Steve Taneyhill, the former South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback known for his mullet and distinctive touchdown celebration, has died at the age of 52. The university's athletic department confirmed on Monday that Taneyhill died overnight in his sleep, though no cause of death was provided.
Taneyhill led South Carolina to its first bowl victory in programme history as a junior in 1994, defeating West Virginia in the Carquest Bowl. During his college career, he set school records with 753 completions and 62 passing touchdowns, and ranked second with 8,782 passing yards.
He was inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. Taneyhill also had eight 300-yard passing games, including six during his senior season, and recorded the two highest passing yardage games in school history: 471 yards against Mississippi State in 1995 and 451 yards against East Carolina in 1994.
After going undrafted, Taneyhill signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1997 but was released during the preseason without playing in the NFL. He later turned to coaching, leading Chesterfield High School to three consecutive South Carolina state championships from 2007 to 2009.
