| No. 33 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1980-09-16)September 16, 1980 (age 45) Bountiful, Utah, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 227 lb (103 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Tualatin(Tualatin, Oregon) |
| College | BYU (1999–2001) |
| NFL draft | 2002: 7th round, 214th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Lucas Staley (born September 16, 1980) is an American formercollege football player who was arunning back for theBYU Cougars. Staley was a consensusAll-American and received theDoak Walker Award as the best college running back in the nation in 2001. He was selected by theDetroit Lions in the seventh round of the2002 NFL draft, but he suffered a career-ending knee injury before appearing in a regular season pro football game.
Staley was born inBountiful, Utah and raised as a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He attendedTualatin High School inTualatin, Oregon, where he was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. He playedhigh school football for the Tualatin Timberwolves. As a senior in 1999, Staley was named Gatorade Player of the Year andUSA Today Player of the Year for the state of Oregon. He was also namedThe Oregonian's Player of the Year, earned all-state honors on offense and defense, and was conference Player of the Year for offense, defense, and special teams. He averaged over 300 yards per game during Tualatin's four-game playoff run. Staley was listed as a Blue Chip Top-100 player.
Intrack & field, Staley recorded times of 11.03 seconds in the100-meter dash, 22.70 seconds in the200-meter dash and 43.6 seconds in the4 x 100 metres relay.
Staley attendedBrigham Young University, and played for theBYU Cougars from 1999 to 2001. In three years at BYU, Staley established himself as one of the best running backs in school history, and posted the best single season of any BYU back in history. In his first game as a Cougar, Staley scored three touchdowns to lead BYU to a 34−13 victory overColorado State in the first-everMountain West Conference (MWC) football game. Despite some nagging injuries that limited his playing time, he continued his impressive play, finishing the season with 92 rushes for 432 yards and 10 touchdowns, and added 26 receptions for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns. He led the MWC in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. For his efforts, Staley was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, andSporting News third-team FreshmanAll-American.[1]
As a sophomore in 2000, Staley started 10 games and led the team with 479 yards (on 130 carries) and scored seven touchdowns. He added 28 receptions for 327 yards. In BYU's 10−7 victory overUNLV, Staley rushed for 167 yards and was named MWC Offensive Player of the Week. He also received awards from BYU's coaching staff for games againstAir Force, UNLV, and Colorado State.
In 2001, under new head coachGary Crowton, the Cougars started the season with a 12–0 record and led theNCAA in scoring (46.8 points per game) and total offense (542.9 yards per game). In 11 games, Staley rushed for 1,582 yards and 24 touchdowns (both totals broke school records). His rushing average (8.1 yards per carry) led the NCAA, and his 143.8 rushing yards per game ranked third nationally. Staley added 32 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns; he led the nation in total touchdowns (28) and scoring (15.5 points per game).
In recognition of his accomplishments, Staley received theDoak Walker Award,[2] and theJim Brown Award, both given annually to college football's top running back. He was also a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American,[3] having received first-team honors from theAmerican Football Coaches Association, theAssociated Press,CNN/SI,Football News, theFootball Writers Association of America, and theWalter Camp Foundation.
Staley decided to forgo his senior season at BYU and entered the2002 NFL draft. However, because of his injury-prone past, Staley was not selected until the seventh round (214th overall) by theDetroit Lions.[4] He participated in Lions' training camp as a rookie, but suffered a knee injury that required a season-ending surgery.[5]
He attended training camp the following season but was waived on August 25, 2003.
Staley lives in Draper, Utah with his wife Heather, and they have 2 sons.[5] As of 2016, he has undergone 23 separate surgeries, as a result of the injuries he suffered playing football.[5]
In 2017, Staley's number #6 jersey was retired by BYU.[6]