Steve Taneyhill obit

‘Pillar of Gamecock history’: Former South Carolina QB Steve Taneyhill dies at 52

 He was not on the list.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Former South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill has died at the age of 52, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office.

The school’s athletic department later confirmed his passing.

“Gamecock Nation mourns the loss of Steve Taneyhill, a pillar of Gamecock history. Our thoughts are with his loved ones. Rest in peace, Steve,” read a social media post from USC.

Known for his trademark mullet and swagger, Taneyhill was the Gamecocks’ signal-caller from 1992-1995. The Altoona, Pennsylvania, native shattered multiple school passing records during his tenure, also being named Sports Illustrated’s Freshman of the Year in 1992.

Taneyhill also notably led the Gamecocks to their first-ever bowl victory in the 1995 CarQuest Bowl, following the 1994 season.

After his time in college, Taneyhill stayed in South Carolina and transitioned to a coaching career that included three straight state championships with Chesterfield High School from 2007-2009.

He also won state titles coaching the eight-man team at Cambridge Academy in Greenwood. Taneyhill’s coaching career also included stints as an assistant at West Ashley and three years as the head coach at Union County High School.

Taneyhill was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

He owned a pair of bars in Columbia, Group Therapy and CB 18, as well as businesses in Spartanburg.

Further details regarding Taneyhill’s cause of death were limited.

He also owned several businesses in the state, including three bars in Five Points and Columbia, and a restaurant in Spartanburg.

As a USC Gamecocks quarterback, Taneyhill compiled 8,380 yards in total offense, completing 753 of 1,245 passes. He threw 62 touchdown passes in his career. Taneyhill wore his hair in a mullet. In 1992 he was named Freshman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and was named to The Football News Freshman All-American Team.

In 2006, he led the Chesterfield High School football team to the South Carolina state championship, where they lost to Carvers Bay. In 2007 Taneyhill's team returned with a 13–6 win over Carvers Bay for the state title and in 2008. In 2009 Chesterfield won their third state title with a 36–6 win over Lamar.

Taneyhill also coached at Cambridge Academy private school in Greenwood, S.C. He led the 8-man team to back-to-back state titles and a runner-up the year after. He was the quarterbacks coach at West Ashley in Charleston, S.C., for one year in between his jobs at Cambridge and Chesterfield. Taneyhill was also the high school coach of NFL first-round draft pick Gaines Adams, who went on to play for Tampa Bay and Chicago during his professional career before Adams' untimely death in 2010.

Taneyhill assumed the head coaching spot for the Union County High School Yellow Jackets in Union, South Carolina, on March 1, 2012.

Taneyhill was let go as head coach of Union County High School after the 2015 season

Taneyhill was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1997, but was released in the preseason and never played in the NFL.