Steve Taneyhill (born July 21, 1973, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American businessman, and former college football player and high school football coach. He is most known for being the star quarterback for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks from 1992 to 1995, where he broke the school record for passing touchdowns and led the school to its first-ever bowl victory in the 1995 Carquest Bowl. [1] In 2006, he was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. [2] For more than a decade, Taneyhill coached football at multiple South Carolina high schools, winning several state titles. [3] [4] He currently owns several businesses in the state, including three bars in Five Points in Columbia, and a restaurant in Spartanburg. [5]
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. [6]
In 2016, Taneyhill purchased the Five Points, Columbia bar Group Therapy, and renamed it "Steve Taneyhill's Group Therapy." Taneyhill has ownership of Prime Restaurant and Whiskey Lounge located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, open in the summer of 2022. [7]
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL), mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
Frank Joseph McGuire was an American basketball coach. At the collegiate level, he was head coach for three major programs: St. John's, North Carolina, and South Carolina, winning over a hundred games at each program.
Anthony Lavon Wright is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Clemson–South Carolina rivalry is an American collegiate athletic rivalry between the Clemson University Tigers and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, the two largest universities in the state of South Carolina. Since 2015, the two compete in the Palmetto Series, which consists of more than a dozen athletic, head-to-head matchups each school year. South Carolina leads the all-sport series 5–1, after Clemson won the 2023–24 series. Both institutions are public universities supported by the state, and their campuses are separated by only 132 miles. South Carolina and Clemson have been bitter rivals since 1896, and a heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters and the passions surrounding their athletic programs. It has often been listed as one of the best rivalries in college sports.
The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach is Shane Beamer. They play their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium.
Lewis Blake Mitchell is a former college football quarterback for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He was previously on the roster of the South Carolina Force.
The 2010 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Steve Spurrier, who was in his sixth season at USC. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and were members of the East Division of the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks finished the season 9–5, 5–3 in SEC play to win the East Division for the first and only time in program history. They earned their first appearance in the SEC Championship where they were defeated by Auburn 17–56. They were invited to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, where they were defeated by Florida State 17–26.
Marcus Lattimore is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he holds the career record for rushing touchdowns (38). He rushed for 1,197 yards as a starter during his freshman year, earning All-American honors. His sophomore and junior years were truncated by severe knee injuries. He opted to forgo his senior year and was selected by San Francisco in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He never played a game for the 49ers and retired from playing football at the age of 23. In 2016, he was named head football coach at Heathwood Hall prep school in Columbia, South Carolina. He served as the Director of Player Development for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2018 to 2019.
The 1992 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the first season for the Gamecocks as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In 1992 the SEC expanded to twelve teams and two divisions with South Carolina placed in the SEC East Division. The Gamecocks were led by Sparky Woods, in his fourth season as head coach, and finished the season with a 5–6 record. After beginning the season 0–5, Steve Taneyhill assumed the starting quarterback position and led the Gamecocks to a 5–1 finish, with wins vs. ranked foes Mississippi State and Tennessee.
The Georgia–South Carolina football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks. The rivalry started in 1894, and has been played annually since the Gamecocks joined the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1992, although as a result of SEC expansion, it will cease to be an annual matchup in 2024. Georgia leads the series 55–19–2 through the 2023 season.
The 1995 Carquest Bowl (January) was a college football bowl game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Jacob Lane Bentley is an American football coach and former player who is currently the quarterbacks coach, co-offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator at Rock Hill High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Bentley played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Utah Utes, and the South Alabama Jaguars.
Ryan J. Hilinski is an American football quarterback for the Northwestern Wildcats. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he started 11 games in 2019.
South Carolina Gamecocks football under Steve Spurrier covers the history of the South Carolina Gamecocks football program under Steve Spurrier from 2005 to 2015.
Spencer Michael Rattler is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and South Carolina Gamecocks. Rattler was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Shiyun M. Smith is an American football wide receiver and punt returner who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina.
Erik Kimrey is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to his appointment at Baylor, Kimrey served as the tight ends coach at the University of South Carolina, where he was a backup quarterback from 1998–2002. Prior to accepting his first collegiate coaching position at South Carolina, Kimrey was the head football coach at Hammond School from 2003 to 2020, where his teams won 12 state titles in 17 seasons.
Zebuliah Noland is an American college football coach and former quarterback. He is the quarterbacks coach for Murray State University, a position he has held since 2024. He played college football for Iowa State and North Dakota State, before drawing media attention upon being added to the South Carolina Gamecock roster, where he was named their starting quarterback, despite being a graduate assistant with the team.
Jaheim Cameron Bell is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and South Carolina Gamecocks.
Anthony Xavier Legette is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected by the Panthers in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.