Former University of Georgia football player, 21, dies after car crash

Gleaton Jones, a former walk-on running back for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team, has died at the age of 21 after a car accident this week.

Jones died on Friday, December 13, according to an obituary shared by Matthew’s Funeral Home.

His death comes three days after a car accident on Tuesday, Dec. 10, left him hospitalized with a brain injury, according to UGA’s independent student newspaper The red and black.

Local outlet WSB-TV also reported that Jones died after a serious car wreck while the Porterfield Methodist Church in Jones’ hometown of Albany, Georgia, said he “suffered a brain injury from an accident.”

According to his obituary, Jones was a walk-on running back for the Bulldogs in 2021 after a high school career at Deerfield-Windsor School.

“Gleaton lived life to the fullest and touched joy and enthusiasm in every endeavor,” the obituary said. “At such a tender age, he created a full life for himself and for others by investing deeply in his family, friends, brotherhood and service to others through his growing faith.”

“Known by his closest friends as ‘Gleat,’ he was described as simply happy and magnetic. There was no room large enough that his bright light was unable to fill,” the obituary continues. “His light-heartedness and happy disposition could lift others to happiness, and his listening skills often provided peace of mind and encouragement.”

In high school, Jones was a “celebrated athlete” who was an “All-Region football player, selected to the GISA All-Star team, team captain and member of the 2019 State Champion track team,” according to his obituary. As a member of the Bulldogs, he became part of the school’s 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship team, The red and black reported.

Jones was also part of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and was set to earn a marketing degree from the University of Georgia Terry School of Business next spring before returning to Albany to help his father run their family farm, according to the obituary.

The student-athlete is survived by his parents, Marlin and Kirk Jones; his brother, Cole; his grandparents, Linda Fain, Earle Spurlock and Mary Jones; plus aunts, uncles and cousins.

Tributes to Jones have continued to pour in from members of the UGA community, including via UGA bar stool Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) pages, after his death.

One student remembered the athlete as “the funniest person who had the ability to turn any situation into a good one.”

Another said, “I didn’t know Gleaton super well, but I was walking back to my (friend’s) house after the UMass game when I passed by Gleaton’s house, which is right next to my friend’s house. Gleaton saw me from inside the house and rushed outside to greet me and hugged me and was genuinely happy to see me today.”

A celebration of life for Jones will be held at Wynfield Plantation on Monday, December 16.