JJ Jones honoring teammate by wearing his jersey during UNC-Georgia Tech football game

UNC’s top receiver, J.J. Jones, is honoring sick teammate Tylee Craft in one of the best ways possible.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will look to turn their football season around today against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech (4-2, 2-2) is a team that historically gives UNC (3-3, 0-2 ACC) trouble, winning five of the last six matchups. To make matters worse, North Carolina hasn’t beaten the Yellow Jackets in Kenan Stadium since 2016, when Mitch Trubisky was the starting quarterback in Chapel Hill.

Regardless of how today’s game in Kenan goes, the Tar Heels will be playing for something more.

UNC has dubbed its Week 7 clash its Cancer Awareness game, as it honors wide receiver Tylee Craft, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022 and is currently in the hospital fighting.

One North Carolina player is taking it a step further to honor Tylee, as number one wide receiver J.J. Jones will be wearing Craft’s jersey during the game.

Jones only has one touchdown on the season, but he has a Tar Heels-best 300 receiving yards.

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UNC players and coaches previously wore shirts to honor Tylee during their Bell Tower Walk this morning.

Tylee originally came to Chapel Hill as the Class of 2020’s’ seventh-ranked player in South Carolina. Tylee was able to suit up for North Carolina before his unfortunate cancer diagnosis, playing 11 games between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, at wide receiver and on special teams.

Craft was originally supposed to be at the Pitt game last weekend, but he found himself back in the hospital.

The Tar Heels are trying to beat Georgia Tech today, but they’ll be doing so with something much greater on their minds.

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