Kevin Long, a former running back for the New York Jets and a star in South Carolina football, died on Wednesday at the age of 69. The school did not provide a cause of death. Born in Clinton, South Carolina, Long became one of the greatest Gamecock running backs of all time while playing for his home-state school in the middle of the 1970s.
With 2,372 career yards, Long ranks 10th on South Carolina’s list of rushing leaders. In 1975, he became the school’s first athlete to record a 1,000-yard rushing season. Long, who accumulated yards prior to the Gamecocks’ 1990 admission to the elite Southeastern Conference, is considered a gridiron pioneer for the school.
Long’s contributions to the Gamecocks were acknowledged in 2002 when he was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2003 when he was inducted into the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. Long played for the New York Jets until 1981 after being selected in the seventh round of the 1977 NFL Draft.
Long was a player in the USFL’s previous incarnation, having served three teams. Long’s only NFL postseason game was against the Buffalo Bills, where he scored a touchdown. The Jets did not win the 1981 Wildcard game, though. In 1978, he had his greatest season with the Jets, rushing for 954 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns.
