Jeremy Williams, ex-Kendrick football star and inspiring Greenville coach, dies at 50
Jeremy Williams, the former Kendrick High School football star who coached Greenville High School to an undefeated regular season in 2009 after being diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) the previous year, has died.
Williams died Sunday in hospice care at his Harris County home, family friend Steven Camp confirmed to the Ledger-Enquirer. He was 50.
“Jennifer and the kids (Josie and Jacob) are torn and shattered, but they’re also seeing it as a blessing,” Camp said. “They’re celebrating their father’s and husband’s life – and what a life, and what a role model.”
Jeremy served as a father figure for many of his underprivileged players. He was named the 2009 National High School Football Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. Known as the “Georgia Assassin” for his hard-hitting style as an undersized but overachieving defensive back for the University of Memphis, he was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Camp is executive producer of the “The Jeremy Williams Story,” a faith-based Hollywood movie planning to be filmed in Columbus during the spring of 2023 and debut in cinemas during the 2024 football season.
“I wanted to sit next to him at home or in the theater and watch this movie with him,” said Camp, who continues to raise money for the project. “Unfortunately, that’s not able to happen now. But we’re more determined than ever to get it done. We’re going to be working hand-in-hand with Jennifer and the kids. Jeremy is with Jesus, so let’s honor the man and honor his family.”
Jeremy’s story went national in 2010, when the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” built the Williams family of four a new home in Harris County, enabling Jeremy and Jacob, born with spina bifida, to get around more easily in their wheelchairs.
Although he couldn’t coach football anymore, Jeremy still taught life lessons by providing his testimony at churches and hosting Bible study groups in his home. He also advised coaches and participated in Fellowship of Christian Athletes events. He ate through a feeding tube and communicated by using a laser machine that follows the path of his eyes as he spelled words.
The movie will be based on Williams’ 2013 autobiography, “Tenacious: How God Used a Terminal Diagnosis to Turn a Family and Football Team into Champions,” co-authored by Jennifer. A documentary about Williams, “Season of a Lifetime,” premiered in Columbus at Edgewood Baptist Church in 2011.
In nine seasons as Greenville’s head football coach (2002-10), Williams had an overall record of 55-40 and one region championship.
The funeral for Williams will be at 3 p.m. April 3 in Mountain Shadows Community Church, 114 Mountain Shadows Road, Hamilton, Georgia. Visitation will follow the celebration of life ceremony.
Donations to help the Williams family can be made to the Special Fund for Jeremy Williams at Synovus Bank.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 10:19 AM.
