Luke Staley Lucas Staley ( born September 16 , 1980 ) is a former American college football player who was as a running back for Brigham Young University ( BYU ) . Staley was a consensus All - American , and was recognized as the best college running back in the nation . The Detroit Lions picked him in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft , but suffered a career - ending knee injury before appearing in a regular season pro football game . Early years . Staley was born in Bountiful , Utah . He attended Tualatin High School in Tualatin , Oregon , and played high school football for the Tualatin Timberwolves . As a senior in 1999 , Staley was named Gatorade Player of the Year and " USA Today " Player of the Year for the state of Oregon . He was also named " The 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 . College career . Staley attended Brigham Young University , and played for the BYU Cougars football team 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 over Colorado State in the first - ever Mountain 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 , and " Sporting News " third - team Freshman All - American . 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 over UNLV , 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 against Air Force , UNLV , and Colorado State . In 2001 , Staley burst onto the national scene with a spectacular junior season . Under new head coach Gary Crowton , the Cougars started the season with a 12 - 0 record and led the NCAA in scoring ( 46 . 8 points per game ) and total offense ( 542 . 9 yards per game ) . Staley became the main weapon in BYU ' s offensive blitzkrieg . Despite suffering a season - ending ankle injury against Mississippi State , he compiled some eye - popping statistics . In 11 games , he rushed for 1 , 582 yards and 24 touchdowns ( both totals shattered 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 the Doak Walker Award , and the Jim 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 - team All - American , having received first - team honors from the American Football Coaches Association , the Associated Press , CNN / SI , " Football News " , the Football Writers Association of America , and the Walter Camp Foundation . Professional career . Staley decided to forgo his senior season at BYU and entered the 2002 NFL Draft . However , because of his injury - prone past , Staley was not selected until the seventh round ( 214th overall ) by the Detroit Lions . He participated in Lions ' training camp as a rookie , but suffered a knee injury that required a season - ending surgery . He attended training camp the following season but was waived on August 25 , 2003 .