Ronald Talley (born February 21, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

and

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Early years

Talley was born on February 21, 1986, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He grew up in

. He attended

Renaissance High School Renaissance High School is a public high school in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Renaissance is one of four magnet high schools in the Detroit Public Schools district; (the others being Cass Technical High School, Detroit School of Arts, and C ...

in Detroit, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

. During his junior year in 2002, he recorded 122 tackles. He was named to the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' Division 4 All-State team and the All–Detroit first team as a senior in 2003. During that season, he recorded 80

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

and five sacks. Heading into college, he was recruited by the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. After receiving scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Iowa, Louisville, and Michigan State, he opted to sign-on to play

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...

team.

College career

Notre Dame

As a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2004, Talley was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. However, in 2005, he played in 11 games for the Fighting Irish, starting five games. His first career start for Notre Dame came against

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

, where he recorded seven tackles and one sack. He tallied 23 tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, and two pass deflections. In the

2006 Fiesta Bowl The 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 2006, was the 35th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, sponsored by Frito-Lay through its Tostitos tortilla chip brand. The game featured the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes, and res ...

against

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, he recorded three tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection. Heading into his sophomore season in 2006, Talley was expected to provide veteran experience alongside fellow defensive ends

Victor Abiamiri Victor Ikechukwu Abiamiri (born January 14, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. He is of Nigerian desce ...

and

Chris Frome Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

, but six games into the season, he left the team. In those games, he recorded 11 tackles. His departure was reportedly mutually agreed upon by the coaching staff, after he was unhappy with his playing time.

Delaware

On December 19, 2006, he announced his intention to transfer to the

. As a junior in 2007, he played in 13 games, starting eight of those and recorded 43 tackles and three sacks. The following year, as a senior, he started in all but one game for Delaware and recorded 46 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He was named to the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

All–Conference team after the season.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

After going undrafted in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, Talley signed with the

on May 1, 2009. He played in every pre-season game for the Packers that season, recording five tackles, before being waived during final cuts, only to be re-signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He spent the whole season with the Packers' practice squad. After his practice squad contract expired at season's end, he signed a reserve/future contract with Green Bay. He was waived during final cuts again in 2010, for the second straight season.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 9, 2010, the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

signed Talley to their practice squad and later re-signed him to reserve/future contract on January 6, 2011. After battling with

Kenny Iwebema Kenny Iwebema (born February 6, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Early years While at Bowi ...

during training camp for a spot on the Cardinals' 53-man roster, Talley made the team. However, he was waived on September 5, to make room for the recently signed

Chester Taylor Chester Lamar Taylor (born September 22, 1979) also known as Che Tay is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. In 2006, he signed ...

. However, after clearing waivers, he was signed to their practice squad, only to be promoted to the active roster on September 20. Following the 2011 season, he became an

exclusive-rights free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, but was re-signed on April 16, 2012.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On June 13, 2014, he signed a contract with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

New York Jets

Talley was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on March 4, 2015. He was released on September 5, 2015.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioGreen Bay Packers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talley, Ronald 1986 births Living people People from Oak Park, Michigan Players of American football from Detroit American football defensive ends Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players Arizona Cardinals players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Jets players Green Bay Packers players Renaissance High School alumni