2015 BYU Hall of Fame

Luke Staley is one of the most prolific offensive players in BYU history. His physical gifts of size and speed helped him record to one of the greatest single seasons ever by a Cougar running back.

In 2001, Staley led all of Division I football with 8.1 yards per carry and scored 15.5 points per game. He finished the year with 1,582 rushing yards, breaking the old BYU single-season record set by Pete Van Valkenburg in 1972. Staley also rushed for a school-record 24 touchdowns, tops in the nation in 2001, and added four more receiving touchdowns for a school single-season record of 28. He holds the BYU rushing touchdown record for a career (41), season (24) and game (5).

At the conclusion of the 2001 season, Staley won the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back, and was a Consensus All-American, receiving first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Football News, the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Born in Bountiful, Utah, the Staley family eventually moved to Oregon. Staley was recruited out of Tualatin High School, where he was named Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today Player of the Year for the state of Oregon.

Staley played for BYU from 1999-01, before entering the NFL Draft after his junior season. In 1999 he was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year after rushing for 432 yards and 10 touchdowns on 92 carries and caught 26 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Sporting News awarded him with third-team Freshman All-America honors.

Despite having mid-season knee surgery in 2000, Staley put up impressive numbers in his sophomore campaign. He rushed for 479 yards and seven touchdowns on 130 carries. He also had 327 receiving yards. As a sophomore, Staley was named to the All-MWC Second Team.

During his junior season in 2001, Staley led one of the most productive BYU offenses of all time as the Cougars led the nation in points (46.8) and yards (542.9) per game. The Cougars went 12-2, winning the Mountain West Conference. BYU started the season 12-0 and suffered its first defeat only after Staley broke his ankle before the last regular season game.

Staley is the BYU career leader in total points scored by a non-kicker at 290 and is No. 7 in school history in career rushing with 2,644 yards. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft by Detroit Lions. Staley graduated from BYU with a degree in sociology. He and his wife, Heather, have two boys Tate and Crew.

Earned Sporting News third team Freshman All-America honors...named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year... earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors as a freshman...ranked second on the BYU roster with 432 rushing yards on 92 carries...averaged 4.7 yards per carry...produced 10 of the Cougars' 13 rushing touchdowns on the season, including a season-long 61-yard touchdown run at New Mexico to start the second half...produced at least one rushing touchdown in all but one game he played during the season... with his touchdown reception at San Diego State, recorded at least one touchdown in every regular-season game he played...led the Mountain West Conference in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game...scoring average ranked seventh in the nation and was tops of all freshmen in the country...recorded two or more touchdowns in four of the eight regular-season games he played...scored at least two TDs in three straight games to start the 1999 season, including a three-touchdown performance against Colorado State to score 18 of the Cougars' 34 points...produced a season-high 79 yards rushing against Virginia, scoring two rushing touchdowns...produced 771 all-purpose yards during the season, including a season-high 147 yards at New Mexico (69 yds. rushing, 78 yds. receiving)...averaged 96.4 all-purpose yards per game as a freshman...underwent knee and shoulder surgery following the 1999 campaign.

Named All-Mountain West Conference second-team ... earned MWC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors (vs. UNLV; Sept. 23) ... earned coaches' award for performances against Air Force, UNLV and Colorado State ... started in 10-of-12 games this season ... suffered a concussion against Florida State and underwent mid-season knee surgery, only to record 167 yards rushing on 28 carries against UNLV in his first game back .... recorded 75 yards rushing and three rushing TDs against Utah State ... led the Cougars with 88 yards on 23 carries against Wyoming ... recorded two more TDs against New Mexico, marking his sixth career multi-scoring game ... has scored 17 rushing touchdowns and three receptions for touchdowns throughout his career, including seven rushing TDs in 2000 ... carried the ball 130 times for a team-leading 479 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per carry ... produced at least one touchdown in 12 of the 19 games he has played at BYU, including two three TD performances ... has scored 120 points in two seasons, including 42 points as a sophomore ... ranked seventh in the MWC with a 4.7 point-per-game average.

Drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions...the Doak Walker Award winner...Consensus All-American...led the nation in scoring, averaging 15.45 points per game...led the nation in yards per carry, averaging 8.1 yard per touch...ranked third in the nation in yards per game, averaging 143.8 yards per contest...recorded more yards rushing by any back in the nation with less than 170 carries...only one of seven BYU running backs in Cougar Football history to run for over 1,000 yards in a single season...scored more touchdowns than any other player in the nation...set the BYU single-game yards-per carry record, averaging 14.2 yards per carry against Tulane...broke the 29-year-old BYU single-season rushing record, recording 1,433 yards in just 10 games...set the single-season touchdown scoring record with 28 TDs on the season...tied a BYU single-season record with 30 points against Utah State and Colorado State...set the BYU career touchdown scoring record during the season, having recorded 48 touchdowns in just three seasons...has produced eight multi-touchdown performances on the season, including five games with three or more touchdowns...twice scored a career-high five touchdowns on the season, including games against Utah State and Colorado State...chalked up 100-or-more yards rushing in eight different games this season, including five games with 150-or-more yards...put together six straight games with over 100 yards rushing, including four straight games with 150-or-more...set a MWC record with his fourth Offensive Player of the Week honor after knocking off Utah...was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week after a career-high 207 yard rushing performance against Utah State (October 8), scoring four rushing and one touchdown reception...earned player of the week honors on November 5 after scoring five touchdowns against a stingy Colorado State defense, recording 196 yards on 22 carries...also named player of the week after racking up another 172 yards on 31 carries, scoring four touchdowns against Wyoming...earned MWC Offensive Player-of-the-Week and CNN.SI National Player-of-the-Week recognition after scoring two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the final 3:22 of the Cougars' come-from-behind win over Utah...averaging 11.1 yards per reception...scored four touchdowns receptions on the season and 24 rushing TDs...owns the BYU and MWC single-season and career scoring records (including kickers) with 170/290 points...needs just 722 yards to become BYU's all-time leading career rusher.