Jumpy Geathers

James Allen "Jumpy" Geathers (born June 26, 1960) is a former American football defensive lineman. At the time of his retirement, he was the only active player who played for the now defunct Wichita State football program.

Career

He played defensive tackle at Wichita State, and then for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (New Orleans Saints 1984-1989, Washington Redskins 1990-1993, Atlanta Falcons 1994-1995, and Denver Broncos 1996). He was a part of the Redskins team that won Super Bowl XXVI. At 6' 7" and 290 pounds he was a forceful pass rusher, famous for his "forklift" rush, in which he picked up his blocker and carried him to the quarterback.^[1] Despite bad knees later in his career, Geathers played well into his 30's, unusual for a defensive tackle. Geather's career was cut short when he ruptured his Achilles tendon during training camp with the Denver Broncos in 1997, the same year the Broncos would go on to win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. He retired with 62 sacks in 183 games. Geathers attended Choppee High School located in Georgetown, South Carolina.

Personal

Geathers has four nephews in the NFL: Robert Geathers, who plays defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, Kwame Geathers, who plays nose tackle for the San Diego Chargers, Clifton Geathers, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, and Clayton Geathers who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 4th round pick 109 as a safety after playing football for the UCF Knights football team from 2010 through 2014. His son Jeremy Geathers played for the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League, however he died on February 11, 2017 in Las Vegas.^[2]

References

External links

• Denver Broncos bio from 1997 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 24, 1998)