Kenny Easley, a three-time First Team All-American and a 1991 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred at UCLA from 1977-1980, passed away Nov. 14. He was 66.
“Kenny Easley was one of the iconic safeties in the history of our sport, and he embodied class both on and off the field,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing. He was a true Hall of Famer in every sense of the word. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Playing for NFF College Football Hall of Fame coach Terry Donahue, Easley became the first player in history to garner First Team All-Pac 10 honors four times. A three-time First Team All-America (Consensus [1978], Unanimous [1979, 1980]), he has been cited as the finest safety in football history.
Easley still holds the program record with 19 career interceptions, including 13 across his first two seasons. He ranks fifth on UCLA’s all-time tackles list with 374, with his 93 stops in 1977 representing the most by a Bruin true freshman. Easley totaled 105 during the 1980 campaign, after which he finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting.
Easley also returned punts and kickoffs, and he briefly punted. In 1979, he blocked a Washington punt. Easley stood 6-3, weighed 206 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, and had a 32-inch vertical leap.
The Bruins went 29-15 during his four seasons in Westwood, with final AP rankings of No. 12 in 1978 and No. 14 in 1980.
He was quoted in 1980: “I’d like to be remembered as someone who cares for other people.”
Drafted No. 4 overall in 1981, Easley played for the Seattle Seahawks 1981-87; was All-Pro four times; and was named to the NFL Team of the 1980s.
Illness ended his football career. In June 1990, he received a kidney transplant. Four months later he was jogging. In January 1991, he shot 73-75 and won an amateur golf tournament in Pasadena, California.
In addition to the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, Easley was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Easley’s No. 5 was retired by UCLA following his illustrious career in Westwood and his No. 45 was retired by the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. He was named one of the 150 greatest players in college football’s 150-year history in 2020.
Kenneth Mason Easley was born in 1959 and attended Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Easley is survived by his wife Gail Easley, son Kendrick Easley and daughters Gabrielle Manhertz and Giordanna Easley. Plans for memorial services are pending.
