North Carolina WR Dies at 23 from Cancer
You guys know I follow this topic very closely, but this time, the death of a young star athlete had nothing to do with heart problems.
Tylee Craft, 23, died on Saturday morning.
The athlete, sadly, lost his battle with cancer.
He’s Gone
Word passed very early on Saturday that Craft had passed away, putting a dagger in the heart of Tar Heels nation.
Coach Mack Brown (formerly of the Texas Longhorns) stated, “This young man fought so hard for his two and a half years.
“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."
He continued, "I think the family feels the love, and they'll continue to feel the love.
"What we've got to do is be strong and pray for strength for us as leaders to help these guys on the field and off the field. ... So more than ever before I have got to step up and be stronger for them and make sure that I can help them manage the stuff and move forward in their lives."
Tyler was a standout WR at Sumter High School, ranked 60th overall in the nation by ESPN his senior season.
More importantly, he was a standout student, making the honor roll every year, so this was a kid that everyone was pulling for.
He wound up committing to UNC, mostly appearing on special teams,
His sophomore season, he played in four games at both WR and Special Teams.
He likely would have had an expanded role in his junior and senior years, but he was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer that season. He was, however, named to the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.
As bad as his situation was, he was around the team and coaching up other players as much as possible.
This is just a crushing loss, as another promising life gets snuffed out by that horrible disease (the same disease that Joe Biden promised to cure on the 2020 campaign trail).
