Charles Haley: JMU Standout to NFL Hall of Famer - Part 2

JMUSports.com this week will devote a series of articles to former JMU football standout Charles Haley (1982-85), who on Saturday will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The first installment introduced Haley and reviewed his high school career, recruitment to JMU and first JMU season (1982). A second installment reviews his second and third JMU seasons and the third installment reviews his fourth JMU season and professional career. The complete enshrinement ceremony will air live at 7 p.m. on the NFL Network. More information is available at JMUSports.com.

Following a turnaround season in 1982 and with the emergence of Charles Haley as a standout performer, expectations for James Madison University football were high as the 1983 season opened. Haley continued to develop and impress as a major force for the Dukes; unfortunately, however, a series of devastating injuries sidetracked the program's progression for several campaigns.

Charles Haley Basics

Hometown: Gladys, Va.
High School: William Campbell (Class of 1982)
JMU Seasons: 1982-85
Playing Positions: Defensive End/Linebacker
NFL Draft: San Francisco, 1986, Fourth Round
NFL Career: San Francisco 1986-91, 1998-99; Dallas 1992-96

JMU compiled a 3-8 record in 1983 after starting 3-1, and recovered from a 0-2 start to finish 1984 with a 6-5 mark. A coaching change followed the 1984 season with Joe Purzycki assuming leadership of the program from 13-year coach Challace McMillin and Jimmy Prince being the only member of the 1984 staff remaining with the Dukes in 1985.

After being the team's second-leading tackler with 85 as a freshman, Haley took part in 143 stops during the 1983 season and 147 during 1984, both team-leading totals. McMillin's staff moved him to an inside linebacker position early during the 1983 campaign, making him more of a focal point of the JMU defense. Haley was credited with four quarterback sacks in 1983 and three in 1984 and had two interceptions in 1984.

The Dukes opened 1983 with an impressive 24-20 win at Appalachian State, a team that had won at Wake Forest the previous week. Seeking their second win in as many seasons at Virginia, they then controlled play for much of the game before falling 21-14 in a game in which they couldn't overcome five turnovers. Gary Clark returned punts 87 and 89 yards to provide the Dukes' touchdowns at Virginia.

JMU beat Liberty 44-35 and Davidson 50-0 the next two weeks to remain among the more highly regarded teams in Division I-AA but was beaten down by injuries during the remainder of the season. The Dukes lost Warren Marshall, their eventual career rushing yards leader, at Appalachian State, quarterback Jon Roddy during the Virginia game and standout safety Marshall Barnes during the third game. Quarterback Tom Bowles also missed a significant portion of the season.

The 1984 team won four of five games after the 0-2 start, including a 20-19 win over a nationally ranked Delaware State team led by Purzycki, who became JMU's head coach less than three months later.

Impressive Statistics

The move to inside linebacker allowed Haley to compile a long list of impressive game statistical totals. After being involved in 27 tackles during the Dukes' first four games in 1983, he took part in 116 during the team's next seven contests. He reached double figures in stops during each of the seven games, including 22 against Shippensburg, 20 at Richmond, 17 against Towson and 16 against Delaware and Delaware State.

During the 1984 season Haley compiled double-figure tackles totals in in nine games, including 21 against Delaware State and 17 against East Tennessee State. Delaware State was nationally ranked for most of the season and had scored 50, 35, 56 and 38 points in its four games before meeting the Dukes.

"He played well in every game; that's the way he was," McMillin said. "He took one play at a time and really went all out all of the time."

Matchup of Future Pros

JMU's 1983 and 1984 games against Delaware State were a showcase for several players who went on to outstanding professional football careers and gave Purzycki a first-hand look at the standout player he would coach in 1985. Haley took part in 37 tackles during the two games, and JMU's Clark and Delaware State's John Taylor were receivers who established outstanding credentials in the NFL.

"Very few times in my coaching career did a player stand out so much that when you were putting in your game plan you had to account for him all the time," Purzycki said. "When he got on the field in the I-AA environment, Charles stood out so much. He was a force at that level."

Haley had 16 stops in Delaware State's 38-28 home win over the Dukes in 1983 while Clark had a 72-yard scoring catch among seven receptions for 185 yards, and Taylor had touchdown grabs of 69, 31 and 50 yards and a 68-yard punt return for a score.

Haley took part in 21 tackles in JMU 20-19 win over Delaware State in 1984, and his interception of a two-point conversion pass with 1:31 to play preserved JMU's lead. Barnes deflected the conversion pass that Haley intercepted.

Pro Preparations

The JMU coaching staff change at the end of the 1984 season left a void during the time when professional scouts began to evaluate Haley. Prince said the player, not wearing appropriate shoes for testing, was timed at approximately 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a clocking not indicative of Haley's true talent or one that would impress a professional organization.

Prince and Haley worked on the player's technique for testing for three weeks; and when a San Francisco 49ers scout returned, Haley was timed at 4.55 seconds. The scout said the team was interested in a wide receiver who had run a 4.59 and was more than surprised by a linebacker having a similar time.

The wide receiver was Delaware State's Taylor, a player JMU faced during both the 1983 and 1984 seasons. The 49ers selected him in the National Football League draft's third round in 1986 and chose Haley in the fourth round. Both became standouts and members of Super Bowl championship teams in San Francisco.

1983, 1984 Honors

Haley was named a second-team all-state honoree by the Roanoke Times for his play in 1983. In 1984 he received Associated Press honorable All-America recognition, was an honorable mention All-Eastern College Athletic Conference choice and was a first-team all-state selection by the Roanoke Times.