Skip Hall, the offensive coordinator at the University of Washington had been recruiting him, and when Hall was hired as the new Boise State head coach in 1988, Stayner chose Boise State and became one of Hall's first verbal commitments. He thought about playing basketball and track also but quickly realized he "was up against a whole new level of competition there." Stayner started his final three season for the Broncos, earning academic All-American honors from 1989-1991 and all Big Sky Conference honors in 1990 and 1991.
In 1989, Stayner made what BroncoCountry fans judged to be one of the Top 100 Plays in Boise State Football History*. The game was the season finale on the Blue Turf against Eastern Washington. It was Senior Day, and the Broncos found themselves behind 13-0 at the half and down by three beginning the fourth. Quarterback Mike Virden dropped back at the 34 and hit tight end Larry Stayner for a short pass over the middle at the 40. Stayner got a block and headed to the sideline. He broke a tackle, then another, and then another. Stayner motored his way past seven Eagles and headed towards paydirt, falling down in the north end zone as he was finally tackled for a 66-yard touchdown as the Broncos came from behind to win 27-20.
Stayner caught 23 passes for 331 yards (14.9 average) and two TD's that fall and followed that up with 18 catches for 191 yards (10.6) and a TD in 1990 and 37 receptions for 415 yards (11.2) and two TD's as a senior.
“I just really felt like that was a good fit for me,” Stayner said, “and it ended up being a great adventure. And I had family that (I) reconnected with in Boise. It was fun and we won a lot of games.” “It (Boise) was kind of a little city just on the verge of becoming a metropolitan area, which of course it has,” Stayner said. “I noticed right away when I was there they have big business. The university really played into that, and you could just tell while I was there that we were poised (to move up).”
After graduating from Boise State, Stayner earned a prestigious NCAA post-graduate scholarship. Larry was accepted at the University of Washington Medical School in 1992 but chose to pursue a career with the Seattle Seahawks, who drafted him in the ninth round of the National Football League draft.
Seattle was impressed that a 250-pound All-Conference tight end could run a 4.6 40. Stayner suffered a knee injury in his rookie year just as he was poised to start for the Seahawks. He rehabilitated well and played even better his next year. But the Seahawks cut him and Stayner enrolled at the University of Washington. While in Seattle, Larry met and married his wife Kristin, who is now a physical therapist. Stayner graduated four years later and accepted an orthopaedic residency at Loma Linda University in California.
In 2002, Dr. Stayner became a fellow at the prestigious Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where he treated athletes from the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings and Mighty Ducks. Stayner's patients included amateur athletes who had suffered injuries in sports such as swimming, rock climbing, ballet, cycling and volleyball. The Stayners loved their jobs but were looking for another location. They had 70 offers in four states and chose Missoula, Montana to settle down.
In 2005, BroncoCountry began voting on the All-Time Boise State football team and the ideas was accepted by Boise State. The school asked fans to vote on a Bronco 35 team in conjunction with the 35th anniversary of Bronco Stadium. Stayner was one of six tight ends nominated for the team and was humbled by the honor.
“I think they’ve had some really phenomenal tight ends, two or three of them since I’ve gone,” Stayner noted. “I think when I left I had the leading amount of catches, but that was, I’m sure, short lived because they’ve been throwing the ball all over the field.”
Stayner is in fact still tied for #1 with Derek Schouman at Boise State for the most career receptions by a tight end (78) and he is fourth among tight ends and #36 overall for career receiving yards (937).
Stayner is now an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine at Northern Rockies Orthopaedics in Missoula. He received the Patient's Choice Award in 2010. Larry and Kristin have three daughters--Grace, 11, Katie, 9, and Brooke, 6.
