Phil Petty passed away early Thursday morning, according to multiple media reports.

David Cloninger of The Post and Courier writes that Petty, a former South Carolina quarterback, passed after dealing with a sudden illness.

Petty played for the Gamecocks from 1998-to-2001. He led South Carolina to 17 wins during his career. Petty’s 5,652 passing yards rank No. 8 among Gamecocks QBs and his 28 touchdowns are good for No. 10 in school history.

South Carolina fans fondly remember Petty for leading the team on an incredible turnaround from 0-11 in 1999 to 8-4 in 2000. Under Petty, the Gamecocks won the Outback Bowl twice.

Petty got into coaching at Hammond High School in Columbia as the school’s offensive coordinator for the 2003 season. Petty was then a graduate assistant at South Carolina, who primarily worked with quarterbacks.

Petty joined the East Carolina coaching staff on Dec. 9, 2004, to work under Skip Holtz. Petty played for Skip’s father Lou Holtz at South Carolina. Skip Holtz was a Gamecocks assistant during Petty’s playing career.

Petty was 43.