One of the legendary members of the University of South Carolina’s athletic family, former quarterback Steve Taneyhill, died Monday morning after a battle with Cancer. He was 52.
Taneyhill arrived in Columbia in 1992, the year the Gamecocks entered the SEC. He was recruited by Sparky Woods and assistant coach Rich Bisaccia out of Altoona High in Pennsylvania, where he was one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects.
The son of a coach, and from a family of athletes, Taneyhill brought long hair and a big arm to a USC team that was not totally equipped at the time to handle the rigors of their new league.
Taneyhill began the season as a backup. A brief player revolt after an 0-5 start led Woods to turn to Taneyhill as the starting quarterback.
On October 17, 1992, Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to a 21-6 win over 15th-ranked Mississippi State. He completed 7-14 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
The Gamecocks went on to defeat Vanderbilt, 16th-ranked Tennessee and Louisiana Tech before losing at 9th-ranked Florida 14-9.
The legend of Taneyhill had been planted, and it blossomed on November 21st, 1992, when he led the Gamecocks to a 24-13 win at Clemson. It was after that game that Taneyhill famously mimicked signing his name into the Tiger Paw at midfield.
Taneyhill finished that first season with 1272 passing yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions, and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. He would go on to become the second leading passer in Gamecock history with 8782 yards, and the career leader in touchdown passes with 62.
In 1994, with first-year head coach Brad Scott in charge, Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to a 7-5 record, including their first-ever bowl win over West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl in Fort Lauderdale. That season h,e passed for 2259 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also became the first Gamecock quarterback to win twice at Clemson. The Gamecocks defeated the Tigers that season 33-7.
His finest season was his last. In 1995, Taneyhill passed for 3094 yards and 29 touchdowns. He completed 67% of his passes with just nine interceptions.
Taneyhill went on to become a highly successful football coach in South Carolina with a career mark of 142-60. He won a total of five state championships. His first two came at the private school level with Cambridge Academy in Greenwood, where he coached future Clemson star and NFL player Gaines Adams.
Taneyhill then moved to Chesterfield, where he won state championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. His final coaching stop was at Union County from 2012-2015. He played for a state championship in his first season and lost in the semi-finals in his final game.
After hanging up the whistle, Taneyhill went into the business world where he operated restaurants in Spartanburg and later in Columbia.
Release from USC
Steve Taneyhill, a record-setting University of South Carolina quarterback, successful high school coach and area businessman, has passed away at the age of 52.
A native of Altoona, Pa., Taneyhill started four seasons from 1992-95 for the Gamecocks, setting school career records with 753 completions and 62 passing touchdowns and was second with 8,782 passing yards and 7th with a 60.5 completion percentage.
Taneyhill was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named Freshman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Football News Freshman All-America in 1992.
An exciting player, Taneyhill was known for his iconic mullet hair and his “home run swing” after touchdown passes.
As a junior in 1994, he led Carolina to its first bowl victory in program history, defeating West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl. He was also team captain of the 1995 squad.
He led the Gamecocks in passing in all four seasons, and had eight 300-yard passing games, including six during his senior season. At the time the end of his playing career, he had the two highest passing yardage games, and three of the top four games, in school history – 471 yards vs. Mississippi State in 1995, 451 yards vs. East Carolina in 1994 and 405 yards against Georgia in 1995.
He also owns the school record for single game pass completions and attempts (39 of 58 vs. East Carolina, 1994) and his five touchdown passes vs. Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt in 1995 are tied for second in school history. His 29 passing touchdowns during the 1995 season still stands as a school record.
As a high school coach, he led Chesterfield High School to the South Carolina state championship three straight seasons, 2007-09. His team was state runners-up in 2006. He was also head coach at Union High School for four seasons (2012-15).
Following his coaching career, Taneyhill purchased and operated businesses in Columbia and Spartanburg.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
RIP Steve
I can still remember the team revolt in 1992 and him stepping in as a true freshman after an 0-5 SEC season debut under coach Sparky Woods. He single handedly injected life back into Gamecock football but winning 5 of 6 games that he started. That ’92 season cemented his status as a Gamecock legend.