Former Jets running back Kevin Long died on Tuesday night, the University of South Carolina, his alma mater, wrote in a statement.
He was 69.
No cause of death was given.
Long, a Clinton, South Carolina native, made history with the Gamecocks when he rushed for 1,133 yards in 1975, becoming the first player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.
Long’s impressive career in South Carolina (1973-76) saw him gain 2,372 rushing yards, which ranks 10th all-time in school history.
The Jets took a chance on him in the seventh round of the 1977 NFL Draft, which helped him realize his dream of becoming a professional football player.
In 2020, he looked back fondly on his career with the Jets in an interview with the team’s website.
“I always wanted to play in the NFL. I was never quite sure I’d get drafted and when I did, I mean, to go to New York, what better place to go to. That was the very first time I’d been there, and I was scared to death,” Long said. “We flew in over the city going to LaGuardia [Airport] and I was just in total awe. My hometown, Clinton, South Carolina, there were 20,000 people, if that many.
“They had told me to look for a guy with a sign, and here’s this guy in a chauffeur uniform. He takes me out and I get into this long black limousine. I’d never rode around in a limo in my life. It was one of those ‘If they could only see me now’ moments.”
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In five seasons with Gang Green, he amassed 2,190 rushing yards and 28 total touchdowns.
A large chunk of that came in his career-best 1978, when he started all 16 games, rushing for 914 yards and 10 scores, leading all Jets in both categories.
He also recorded a touchdown in the Jets’ lone playoff game in 1981.
Long was traded to the Bears before the 1982 season, but he was cut before ever taking a snap.
That’s when he caught on in the USFL, playing one season with the Chicago Blitz and two with the Arizona Wranglers — after the two full rosters were traded for each other in an infamous swap — before the league folded.
Over three seasons, he totaled an impressive 2,316 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground.
Long was enshrined as a member of the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame as well as his alma mater’s hall of fame.
According to the University of South Carolina, funeral plans have not yet been finalized.