Hillsborough High, Tennessee football legend Steve Kiner dies at 77

Former Hillsborough High multi-sport star Steve Kiner, who at the University of Tennessee evolved into arguably the greatest college football player ever produced by a bay area school, has died at age 77.

UT confirmed Kiner’s death in a news release Thursday, with no cause of death given. In December 2023, the Tampa Bay Times ranked Kiner as the second-greatest collegian to hail from an area school, behind only 2023 Heisman runnerup Michael Penix Jr. (Pasco, Tampa Bay Tech).

A 1966 Hillsborough alumnus, Kiner spent his inaugural season in Knoxville on the Volunteers’ freshman team, but was named SEC Sophomore of the Year the following season. A linebacker whose soft hands (five interceptions as a senior in 1969) belied his ability to dislodge molars with the force of his shoulder pads, he earned first-team All-America honors each of his final two seasons.

He particularly shined as a senior in 1969, when he led the Vols to their second SEC crown in three years and finished ninth in the Heisman voting. In a 10-9 victory over Alabama in mid-October, Kiner recorded 14 tackles — including 11 solos and five for loss — an interception and a forced fumble.

He was taken by the Cowboys with the No. 73 overall pick in the third round of the 1970 NFL draft and played nine seasons in the league with Dallas, New England, Washington and Houston.

He was selected to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1994, he earned his doctorate in clinical psychology and starting a practice in mental health therapy in Georgia, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.