Former UGA Star Dies in Walton Co. House Fire

By Kristal Dixon (Patch Staff)

MONROE, GA — The Reinhardt University community is mourning the loss of one of its football coaches.

Quentin Moses, along with a mother and her child, were killed early Sunday morning in a house fire in Monroe, a small city located roughly 46 miles east of Atlanta.

“Reinhardt University is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of our coach and friend, Quentin Moses,” said Reinhardt President Kina S. Mallard. “As a university founded and undergirded by our Christian faith, and in the words of St. Paul, ‘We do not grieve as those who have no hope’ because our faith teaches us that Quentin Moses is more alive now than he has ever been before in the presence of his Lord. Along with my leadership team, our Board of Trustees and our faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends, I offer our most heartfelt condolences today to Quentin Moses’ family. We want you to know that we stand with you as you grieve."

The Monroe Fire and the Walton County Fire Rescue departments responded around 6:05 a.m. Feb. 12 to a fire at a home on Shamrock Drive in the city, which is also about 30 miles from Athens.
Firefighters arrived on the scene to discover the residence was "fully engulfed," Monroe fire said on its Facebook page.

Crews found Moses unconscious and moved him outside to perform CPR. He was transported to Clearview Medical Center where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Firefighters continued their attack on the fire and as the blaze was brought under the control, the roof of the home collapsed. The search also unearthed the bodies of 10-year-old Jasmine Godard and her mother, Andria Godard, 31.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the agency added.

“On behalf of the city of Monroe, we are all sadden by this life taking tragedy," Public Safety Director Keith Glass said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families.”

One of the most talented defensive linemen in University of Georgia history, Moses was serving his fifth season with Reinhardt as a defensive line coach. In 2016, Moses coached two first team all-conference performers: Tevin McCoy and Javi Dyer (2015 Mid-South West Co-Defensive Player of the Year).

Moses's group also totaled 139 tackles for loss and were ranked second in the nation with total sacks (46).

“Quentin Moses was an integral part of our coaching staff, but more than that he was a person who believed in our student-athletes and worked hard every day to help each athlete perform at the highest level on the field and in the classroom,” said Reinhardt Head Football Coach James Miller. “We will miss his leadership, and I will miss his friendship.”

Reinhardt University’s football team gathered earlier today as a family to talk about Moses and how the team will move forward.

“We talked together about what it means to lose someone so loved by our players, coaches and supporters of Reinhardt Eagles Football,” Miller said. “And we talked about how we will recover from this and go on to do the work that would make Coach Moses proud – together.”

Over his career at UGA, Moses received a litany of accolades, including All-SEC First Team honors, several SEC defensive player of the week awards and Walter Camp Second-Team All-American status, among other awards. A member of three different National Football League teams, Moses is most famous for his time with the Miami Dolphins.

“Obviously our entire program is reeling today from this tragic news,” said Bill Popp, Reinhardt’s Athletic Director. “Our biggest concern today is to do anything we can to support Quentin’s family and to provide support and counseling for our student-athletes.”

A "Celebration of Life" service in memory of Moses has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 15 at 1 p.m. in the Brown Athletic Center gymnasium.

Images via Reinhardt University