Big Blitz Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Ryan Pritt: Darryl Talley's No. 90 retired in emotional ceremony MORGANTOWN — Settled in a stadium and in a town he could barely longer recognize, Darryl Talley was flooded with stories and emotions he could never forget. And if the reception and the respect he commanded from a homecoming crowd of 54,090 on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium, there’s little doubt that few West Virginia fans have forgotten him either. Talley had his number 90 retired during the Mountaineers’ 23-20 loss to Texas Tech, growing an elite group to four that also includes Ira Rodgers (21), Sam Huff (75) and Bruce Bosley (77). Later this season, Major Harris (9) will become the fifth former WVU player to have his number retired.... ... On Friday, Brandon Lowe and I had Talley on our radio show to talk about the ceremony ahead of time. He was fairly soft-spoken about it, but by Saturday, following more than a day of festivities surrounding the event and surrounded by family and friends, the moment finally started to catch up with one of the most accomplished players in program history. “I’m just truly happy that I finally got to the summit of what it is in college and that’s what I consider this to be — the highest honor you can get,” Talley said. “And I’m just very proud of it.” .... “The way the university has grown and the new things that have come about have been truly great.” To Talley, the venture from the days of old Mountaineer Field to now was a natural progression, but one that sped up significantly due to the teams he was apart of. Talley, a four-year starter (1979-82), played his first season under former coach Frank Cignetti before Nehlen took over in 1980 as the team moved into the brand-new Mountaineer Field. To hear Talley tell it, it was quite a culture shock when Nehlen came in, but one that was needed as a player and as a culture. “I started listening to him, believing in some of the things he was saying, listened to the part where he told me I had to get stronger and I did that, and as an end result we started to look around and see the things he was saying come to fruition,” Talley said. “So, once they started coming to fruition, we just kept believing, doing the next thing, and that’s essentially the way he started. “The ’77, ’78 and ’79 classes were the three years I think actually turned West Virginia into West Virginia, and those guys, we all put it on the line for each other and did what we had to do for each other.” A lot of those players were on the field against No. 2 Pitt in 1982, a game for which Talley may be most famous, at least as a Mountaineer, playing 10 of the 11 defensive positions, picking off Dan Marino, blocking a punt and scoring on it in the same game. West Virginia lost the game 16-13 as Talley fell to 0-4 against Pitt and Dan Marino, whom Talley called his “arch nemesis” on Saturday.... https://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports/columnists/ryan_pritt/ryan-pritt-darryl-talleys-no-90-retired-in-emotional-ceremony/article_e9d5ed51-7837-5856-a9b1-a0bc03727e62.html 1 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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