UNC football player Tylee Craft, who inspired teammates as he battled cancer, dies at 23 :: WRALSportsFan.com
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UNC football player Tylee Craft, who inspired teammates as he battled cancer, dies at 23 :: WRALSportsFan.com

Posted on by Matthew Reynolds

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina football player Tylee Craft, whose battle with a rare form of lung cancer was an inspiration for his teammates, died Saturday, the football program announced.

He was 23.

“He’s just an incredible young person,” UNC head coach Mack Brown said Saturday. “Without getting into faith here or religion, we got to hope that he’s healthy right now and he’s got a smile on his face.”

Craft, from Sumter, S.C., appeared in seven games in 2020 and four in 2021. He was diagnosed with stage 4 large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung cancer in the spring of 2022.

He attended practices into the 2023 season even after the cancer had spread to his brain.

His health deteriorated recently and he entered hospice care this week, Brown said. Many of his teammates visited him during the week as doctors said he had just days to live.

“They all ran to see him,” Brown said. “Hugged him. Talked to him.”

Brown said Craft outlived his initial diagnosis and did so with a purpose.

“This young man fought so hard for his two and a half years,” Brown said. “The doctors told us he outlived what he should’ve. And he did it with the spirit, he did it with a smile on his face, he didn’t miss a meeting, he didn’t miss practice, he coached these other incredible young people.”

The football program announced Craft’s death right after the end of the Tar Heels’ game with Georgia Tech.

“Tylee meant so much to so many and affected us in ways we’ll always be thankful for,” the program posted on social media. “He was 1-of-1 and, while he won’t be with us in body, he’ll be watching over us with his endearing smile and endless positivity.”

That positivity was an example for others, especially his teammates, throughout Craft’s illness.

“Keep fighting, no matter what happens,” Craft told WRAL in 2023. “Keep striving to do better and to push through whatever obstacle you have in front of you, to never give up, there’s always hope at the end of the tunnel.”

The cancer eventually progressed to his liver and spine, but Craft graduated from UNC earlier this year.

Members of Craft’s family, including his mother, were honored during Saturday’s game in Chapel Hill against Georgia Tech. Head coach Mack Brown embraced her on the field during a ceremony at the end first quarter.

Brown said he did not know that Craft had died until after the game.

“Mom hugged me and cried hard after the first quarter so I figured it wasn’t good,” an emotional Brown said.

Fellow wide receiver JJ Jones wore Craft’s No. 13 during the Tar Heels’ 41-34 loss to Georgia Tech. Jones caught a touchdown. Brown wore a shirt with Craft’s number on the front and back during the game. Brown said the receivers want to wear the number in rotation for the rest of the season.

“Rest in peace,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham posted on social media with a photo of Craft and the Tar Heel mascot.

A GoFundMe account has been active in raising funds for Craft’s medical bills. The football program linked to it in a recent social media post.

“This is a part of life,” Brown said. “And we got to learn to utilize the days we have to the best of our ability because we don’t control how many we do have.”

Tylee Craft

Source: wralsportsfan.com