A former Peachtree Ridge High School athlete drowned in the Chattahoochee River over the weekend after friends were unable to save him.
A.J. Houston, beloved defensive lineman at Point University in West Point, jumped into the Chattahoochee River with a few friends, but got caught in a current, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported.
Houston, 19, and his friends were near the River View boat ramp Saturday. His body was found downstream.
Those who knew Houston regarded him as a wonderful young man, who was fun-loving, humble and always gave his best.
“He will be missed by all that knew him,” Mark Fleetwood, Peachtree Ridge head coach told the paper.
Derek Tiller, Peachtree Ridge assistant coach, said Houston was always smiling.
“He was always one of my favorites,” Tiller told the paper. “He was an undersized kind of kid (for defensive line), kind of a 215, 220-pound kid but we played him at all three positions his senior year.”
Houston’s funeral will be Saturday in Okolona, Miss. A memorial is being planned at Point University.
