Athlete – Football
Everett “Poo-Lu” Talbert is the son of the late Ernest Talbert and Gloretta Demus. He was born and raised in Lexington, KY, in the historic Maddoxtown Hamlet, embedded within the rich history of the horse industry. In fact, after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University, Everett became a farrier (blacksmith) and worked on many purebred racehorses under the tutelage of the late Joe Hocker. The Maddoxtown community produced many competitive athletes from all sports fields, which initiated Everett’s competitive spirit and drive to be an elite athlete.
Everett attended Bryan Station High School in Lexington, KY, where he competed in track and gymnastics under the late Coach Paul Woodall, who led the team to state or regional titles in 1972 and 1973. Everett’s most notable achievements came with football under Coach Terry Clark. As the Defenders’ outstanding starting tailback in the 1972 season, Everett was called “a problem” by opposing teams struggling to find ways to stop his run game. Despite their best efforts, he still scored a record 19 touchdowns and gained over 1,300 yards. In addition to being named the Defenders’ MVP for the season, Everett was selected to the Lexington Herald-Leader’s All-State First Team Offense, Associated Press (AP) Kentucky High School All-State Team, All-City Football Team, and the Mid-State All-Conference Team. With 108 scored points, Everett tied with Tates Creek’s Gary Moore as the city’s regular season leading scorer but was lead scorer in the Mid-State Conference.
Everett played four seasons at tailback for legendary EKU Coach Roy Kidd, where he was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1974 and then shared that same honor in 1976 with EKU quarterback Ernie House. Everett turned in one of the most outstanding seasons for any tailback in Colonel history in 1974 when he rushed for 1,478 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on his way to being named First Team All-American by the AP, United Press International (UPI) and Eastman Kodak. He also became the OVC’s first sophomore to gain First Team All-American recognition. That season, he also led the nation in rushing for 10 consecutive weeks, finishing second to fellow All-American and future NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Peyton of Jackson State University. Everett closed his Eastern career as the seventh all-time leading rusher in school history with 3,138 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was a two-time First Team All-OVC choice and won EKU team awards as a three-time Outstanding Running Back and a three-time pick as Offensive Most Valuable Player. Everett received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern in 1977.
The 2022-23 academic year marked the 75th Anniversary of the Ohio Valley Conference. As part of the celebration of the league’s accomplishments, a committee captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport across all OVC 75th Anniversary teams. Everett Talbert was named one of the top football student-athletes in OVC history.
