{"id":21467,"date":"2022-07-21T17:59:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/south-carolina-football-usc-quarterback-phil-petty-dies\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T17:59:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:59:50","slug":"south-carolina-football-usc-quarterback-phil-petty-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/south-carolina-football-usc-quarterback-phil-petty-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"South Carolina football: USC quarterback Phil Petty dies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Quarterback Phil Petty during the 2001 game against Clemson at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia.<\/p>\n


\n Rich Glickstein
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The State file photo<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Former South Carolina quarterback Phil Petty died Thursday. He was 43 years old.<\/p>\n

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Petty was a three-year starter at quarterback under coach Lou Holtz at South Carolina and led the Gamecocks to back-to-back Outback Bowl victories against Ohio State in 2001 and 2002. He was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas award, given to the top quarterback in the country, during his senior season.<\/p>\n

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Petty was MVP of the 2002 Outback Bowl after throwing for 227 yards and two scores in the 31-28 win over the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhil Petty typified what a Gamecock truly is,\u201d South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said in a statement Thursday. \u201cA native South Carolinian, he was a fighter on the football field, a tremendous person off the field and beloved by all Gamecocks. He was a great friend to many and a wonderful dad and husband. My prayers go out to his wife, Morgan, children, Sage and McCoy, and his many friends. \u201d<\/p>\n

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Petty died after a brief illness. A cause of death was not immediately known. Funeral arrangements were not known as of Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Phil Petty at South Carolina<\/h3>\n

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Petty signed with the Gamecocks under then-head coach Brad Scott. He starred at Boiling Springs High School in the Upstate and was the offensive MVP for the state’s 1996 Shrine Bowl team.<\/p>\n

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He redshirted at USC in 1997, then backed up Anthony Wright at quarterback in 1998 before taking over as the starter in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons. Lou Holtz became the head coach for South Carolina before the 1999 season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo, sad, heartbroken over this one. He was one of my favorite guys there,\u201d Scott told The State. \u201cHe was special. I thought he had all those intangibles and he loved the game. He was always studying it and very competitive. He had great timing, great pocket presence, all the things great quarterbacks had. I thought he would be a special player and he turned out to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petty was a major part in the program’s turnaround from the 1998 (1-10) and 1999 (0-11) seasons, as South Carolina finished 8-4 and 9-3 in 2000 and 2001, respectively.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have great memories of him,\u201d Holtz told ABC Columbia’s Mike Gillespie<\/a>. \u201cHe was a great player but he was also a better teammate. Players come and go. Teammates last a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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During his final two seasons at USC, Petty completed 306-of-547 passes for 4,079 yards and 17 touchdowns while leading South Carolina. He threw for 2,110 yards in 2000, helping the Gamecocks to the 8-4 finish, which completed the greatest single-season turnaround in Division IA history after an 0-11 campaign in 1999.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone’s heart is broken<\/span>,\u201d former USC offensive lineman Jeff Barnes said. \u201cHe was a team-first guy and loyal to the brotherhood we had built. He was a kind-hearted, hard-working guy who loved the game of football and loved his teammates. Just his toughness and grit to bring us from the bottom of the barrel, to bring us from not winning any games his freshman year to two Outback Bowls. \u201d<\/p>\n

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Barnes said one of his favorite memories of Petty was his game-winning touchdown pass to Brian Scott for the 14-9 win over Georgia in the 2001 season. <\/p>\n

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Barnes, who is now the athletic director and offensive line coach at Hammond, said Petty always took care of his linemen, taking them out to dinner once a week during the season.<\/p>\n

Petty’s 5,656 career passing yards are seventh overall in South Carolina’s record books. His 17 victories as starting QB are seventh-most all-time.<\/p>\n

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Said head coach Shane Beamer via Twitter: \u201cSo sorry to hear the news of @GamecockFB great Phil Petty passing away. Thoughts & prayers to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After USC, Petty signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans but was released. He worked at Hammond School in Columbia in 2003 and was a graduate assistant with the Gamecocks in 2004. He also worked for a few years as an assistant coach with the East Carolina football team.<\/p>\n

Petty took a job in June on the Gray Collegiate football staff. Petty and Gray Collegiate head coach Adam Holmes were teammates at USC and also were in each other’s weddings.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe was my brother and a leader of our team,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cHe led us to the turnaround we had and was a great friend, great dad and husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Just received the news that former #gamecocks<\/a> QB Phil Petty passed away this morning after becoming ill Wednesday. Was told his family was with him.<\/p>\n

\u2014 SportsTalk Media Network (@sportstalksc) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a great Gamecock. pic.twitter.com\/c5WsganUkj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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So sorry to hear the news of @GamecockFB<\/a> great Phil Petty passing away <\/p>\n

Thoughts & prayers to his family <\/p>\n

\u2014 Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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So sad to hear of the passing of Phil Petty. Praying for his family!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Coach Justin Stepp (@coachjstepp) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Phil Petty to Brian Scott. for the win. Sept. 8, 2001, Athens, Georgia. (2 hours, 39 minutes, 43 second mark in the video). https:\/\/t.co\/iiuYFBXeaC<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Trainor (@ChrisTrainorSC) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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RIP to Phil Petty, one of the #gamecocks<\/a>‘ greatest players in program history.<\/p>\n

My fondest memory was his 37-36 win over Alabama, a few weeks after 9\/11 happened. It brought everyone together. I was a kid with my best friend in the East Upper. Will never forget it.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Just heard that Phil Petty passed away. RIP.
That dude was one of the toughest guys to ever put on a #gamecock<\/a> uniform Also that turnaround from 1999 to 2000 and beyond does not happen without him behind center.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kit Baty (@kitster) July 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

This story was originally published July 21, 2022 10:38 AM.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Related stories from The State in Columbia SC<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n Lou Bezjak is the High School Sports Prep Coordinator for The (Columbia) State and (Hilton Head) Island Packet. He previously worked at the Florence Morning News and had covered high school sports in South Carolina since 2002. Lou is a two-time South Carolina Sports Writer of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.<\/span>
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