Gamecock QB great Steve Taneyhill has died. Here’s what we know
Former South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill died Monday.
Taneyhill was 52 years old and had been battling cancer.
“Gamecock Nation mourns the loss of Steve Taneyhill, a pillar of Gamecock history. Our thoughts are with his loved ones. Rest in peace, Steve,” the University of South Carolina said in a social media post.
His wife, Tabitha, released this in a statement after his death: “Steve fought a rare stage 4 malignant Insulinoma cancer for more than four years. He fought longer and harder than expected because that was who he was—strong, determined, and unwilling to give up on the life and people he loved.”
The Gamecocks’ starting quarterback from 1992-95, Taneyhill remains one of the most beloved and charismatic South Carolina players of the SEC era.
The Pennsylvania native was recruited to USC by coach Sparky Woods (who was fired) and played three seasons under coach Brad Scott. Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to their first bowl victory over West Virginia with a 24-21 win in the CarQuest Bowl on Jan. 2, 1995. He earned MVP honors for the game, throwing for 227 yards and accounting for a pair of touchdowns.
Taneyhill threw for 8,782 yards (second all-time) and 62 touchdowns (No. 1 all-time) over the course of his South Carolina career. His 29 touchdown passes in 1995 remain a single-season program record.
His swagger, long mullet haircut and home run swing after touchdown passes became his trademarks. He once pretended to sign the Clemson tiger paw at midfield in Death Valley after a big win at Clemson in 1992.
“I was 19, a freshman, playing in an important game for a lot of guys on our team, and it was my first time at it,” Taneyhill said in 2015. “The energy in the stadium that day was unbelievable. Honestly, I was just having fun. The home run swings, we set all that up. We talked about having some fun with that. Standing at the Tiger paw and raising my hands, that was very spontaneous.”
The picture with Taneyhill’s arms raised after that Clemson game became an iconic picture that is still part of Gamecock lore to this day.
“Last year at St. Pat’s,” Taneyhill told The State in 2018, “a guy came up and actually had that picture tattooed on his arm. That’s maybe the craziest place I’ve seen it. So it’s neat to connect with fans 25 years after it happened.”
After the CarQuest Bowl win, published reports by The State estimated that 5,000 folks showed up to cheer for the team at the airport as they returned to Columbia.
“No one else will be this team,” Taneyhill, in a story published in 2024, recalled Scott as saying. “They might win bowl games. They might win the SEC championship. But you guys and this team — you guys are the first to ever win a bowl game. That will mean something, especially as you get older.”
Taneyhill was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
After football, Taneyhill got into high school coaching. He was head coach at Cambridge Academy, Chesterfield and Union County from 1998-2015.
At Chesterfield, Taneyhill led the Rams to three straight state championships from 2007-09 and another title appearance in 2006. He led Union County to a state title appearance in his first year in 2012 and a semifinal appearance in 2015.
In 2016, Taneyhill purchased Group Therapy bar, located in Five Points. In 2023, Taneyhill and Jeff O’Hara — who runs the popular @cocks_by_90 X/Twitter page — bought Breakers Bar and Grill, and Breakers Live. Breakers was renamed CB18.
Taneyhill is survived by his wife, Tabitha, and their two sons.
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 10:36 AM.
