Tennessee great Steve Kiner, hailed by Bear Bryant as SEC's best, dies at 77
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Steve Kiner, a stalwart of the Tennessee defense in the late 60s and a College Football Hall of Fame member, has died. He was 77 years old.
After playing the 1966 season with the freshman team, Kiner established himself as one of the SEC's most dominant linebackers from 1967 to 1969. The Volunteers captured two SEC championships and a won 15 of their 18 conference matchups during that time.
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He was named 1967 SEC Sophomore of the Year, helping Tennessee earn a berth to the Orange Bowl. As an upperclassman he was All-SEC and All-America in 1968 and 1969, becoming the first Tennessee player under head coach Doug Dickey to twice earn the consensus recognition.
Kiner was named 1969 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and finished ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. His remarkable performance in a win over Alabama where he recorded 14 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble prompted legendary Tide coach Bear Bryant to call Kiner 'the best in this league since Leroy Jordan played for us.'
CONTINUING COVERAGE: University of Tennessee Football
Kiner played nine season in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Houston Oilers. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, the SEC Legends class in 1999 and the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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