College Football

Georgia prep football star charged with murder

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:13 p.m. ET

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Football is big in the South. Sometimes, one might get the feeling, it is too big.

The Moultrie (Ga.) Observer reported on Thursday that TyKerrius "Grump" Jones had been arrested and faces charges of murder and criminal intent to commit armed robbery.

Jones, 17, a junior at Colquitt County High School who averaged more than 10 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns as the Packers won the Class AAAAAA state championship last year, was one of seven teens charged in the July 5 shooting death of 68-year-old John Hester.

Two of the others charged -- I-Key Pinkins and Brandon Wynn -- were members of the championship team.

Assistant special agent in charge Bahan Rich, told WCTV that investigators believed murder was not the intent when the crime was committed.

"The group planned on robbing Mr. Hester's son, who lives across the road," Rich said. "During that attempt, Mr. Hester encountered them, shots were exchanged between the two, and, of course, Mr. Hester was struck by one of the bullets and subsequently died."

"This is a very tragic, very sobering situation," Colquitt County coach Rush Propst told the Observer on Thursday.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Hester family and everyone affected by this crime."

"A lot of these kids end up in trouble," Propst said. "That's why we push getting (football) scholarship so much. It's so important for these kids to get out of Moultrie."

Here's where the priorities seem to go awry. From the Observer story:

Propst called Jones "a big part of our football team and a huge part of our offense," adding he (expected) Jones to rush for about 1,500 yards and score more than 20 touchdowns this season.

"We expected great things from him. We thought (he'd) be about a third of our offense. He's a difference-maker."

But, Propst, cautioned, "No team should ever be affected by the dismissal of one player. This is a team game. We have a multitide of players. We just have to make some adjustments, reconfigure some things and put this behind us.

"I'm anxious to see how our team reacts."

The team has some 38 seniors and a strong junior class that could help the team overcome Jones's loss.

It doesn't seem like the loss of Jones on the field compares to that of the Hester family.

And a second story from the Observer reads:

MOULTRIE -- With one of their teammates jailed and charged with murder, the 28 members of the Colquitt County 7-on-7 team will try to put a sad day behind them and win the National Select 7-on-7 Championships in Hoover, Ala. ...