BYU's Staley Will Skip Senior Season To Enter NFL Draft

Cougars' star running back feels it's time to take the next step.

Luke Staley ran for a school-record 1,582 yards despite missing two games this season.
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Dec. 26, 2001

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Brigham Young running back Luke Staley will skip his senior year and enter the 2002 NFL draft.

"I feel it is time for me to take my skills to the next level and achieve some additional goals I have established for myself," Staley said Wednesday.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Staley ran for a school-record 1,582 yards despite missing two games this season. His 28 touchdowns set another BYU record and led the nation.

Staley, from Tualatin, Ore., was a first-team All-America selection and won the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back.

BYU - known more for producing NFL quarterbacks such as Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Ty Detmer - was eager to promote Staley for the Heisman Trophy in 2002. Detmer won the award in 1990.

The Cougars were 12-0 and ranked in the top 10 after Staley broke a leg and tore ankle ligaments near the end of a 41-38 win at Mississippi State on Dec. 1. Staley didn't play in a 72-45 loss at Hawaii the following week, and BYU plummeted to No. 19.

Because of ankle surgery, Staley won't be ready to play in the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl against Louisville. He also won't be able to work out for scouts at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in late February. The draft is in April.