Former UGA Defensive Tackle Dies At 38

September 04, 2002 | Football

Sept. 4, 2002

ATLANTA (AP) - Jake Richardson, a defensive tackle for the Georgia football team that beat Texas in the 1984 Cotton Bowl, has died at the age of 38.

Richardson, who died Thursday of kidney failure at Emory Hospital, was a member of the Bulldogs from 1982-85.

"He was intense and had a strong work ethic," said Scott Williams, who was Georgia's captain in 1984. "He was a big man for his time - 6 feet, 3 inches and 270 pounds."

Richardson lived in Athens after graduating from Georgia, established an insurance agency, ran a youth sports program and became a preacher.

He supervised football instructional programs for the Athens YMCA and at his church, East Friendship Baptist.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Richardson; a son, Jordan Richardson of Athens; two sisters, Kimberly Shaw of Douglasville and Heather Holmes of Smyrna; a brother, Bridges Holmes of Baltimore; his mother, Evelyn Richardson of Smyrna, and his father, Johnny Mallory of Decatur.