Dabo Swinney opens up on death of former South Carolina QB Steve Taneyhill

The tragic news that former South Carolina QB Steve Taneyhill died at the age of 52 made headlines on Monday. In the wake of his passing, tributes and condolences have begun pouring out all over social media, including from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.

“I got to know him, and I really liked Steve. He was a really good guy. Huge personality. Very, very good football coach,” Swinney said, speaking to the media on Monday. “Just… took my breath away a little bit. I prayed for his wife this morning. Prayers with all the Taneyhill family, all the South Carolina people who loved him as a player, because he’s one of the greats in this rivalry, for sure, and definitely left an impact with a lot of people in who he was. So, thankful that I got a chance to know him as well.”

Swinney knew Taneyhill before he became the QB of his Tigers’ bitter rival. Swinney recalled meeting Taneyhill on a recruiting visit while working under Gene Stallings at Alabama.

“We’re all out there practicing in the indoor (facility) there in Tuscaloosa and it was December,” Swinney recalled. “… And here comes this guy, walks in, and we’re playing for Gene Stallings. We all know Gene Stallings as players, and he shows up, got the recruiting guy with him. He had that long hair. He had that long hair and all that swag. And we all were in there going, ‘Oh, yeah. We ain’t getting him.’ We knew right then, ‘Yeah, we ain’t getting him.’ And sure enough, we didn’t, and he goes to South Carolina.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Taneyhill had 8,380 yards of total offense and threw 62 touchdown passes in his career. With his famous mullet, Taneyhill was a rockstar at South Carolina and was named Freshman of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1992.

Taneyhill concluded his college career by leading South Carolina to a win in the 1995 Carquest Bowl, the first bowl win in program history. They defeated West Virginia 24-21 and Taneyhill went 26-of-36 for 227 yards and one touchdown. In 2006, he was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

He went on to become a successful high school football coach in South Carolina. In 2006, he led Chesterfield HS to the state championship game. Swinney credited Taneyhill as playing a major role in getting Gaines Adams to Clemson as well.