Tylee Craft, whose long bout with cancer galvanized and inspired his teammates on the Tar Heel football team, died Saturday. He was 23 years old.

“We said to the players on Thursday at practice that he was going to hospice. They all know what that means,” head coach Mack Brown said after UNC’s game vs. Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon. “So they all ran to see him. Hugged him, talked to him, laughed with him.”

Craft, originally from Sumter, S.C., came to Carolina as a four-star wide receiver prospect and enrolled at the school in January of 2020. He appeared in 11 games over the next two seasons.

Craft was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in March of 2022 and immediately began chemotherapy at UNC’s Lineberger Cancer Center. Over the course of Craft’s fight, the football program paid numerous tributes to him, including helmet stickers bearing his No. 13 jersey and naming their 2022 spring game in his honor. Craft received the 2022 Disney Spirit Award as “the most inspirational figure in college football.”

During his treatment, Craft continued to be a steady presence around the UNC football facilities, attending every practice, meeting and game he could. He earned his undergraduate degree from UNC in the spring of 2024 and began work toward a graduate degree in the fall. Craft had previously told Chapelboro his goal was to be a scout in the NFL.

“While he won’t be with us in body,” read the program’s statement, “he’ll be watching over us with his endearing smile and endless positivity.”

“He is a wonderful lesson for all of us,” Brown said. “Because of who he is, what he is, what he stood for at 23 years old. He’s tough as nails… I never heard him gripe one time.”

 

Featured image via UNC Football on Instagram

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