Tag: Tylee Craft

Kenan Stadium honoring Tylee Craft for remainder of 2024 UNC football season

When you watch UNC’s last two home football games, you’ll notice a new decal on the 25-yard line.

After four straight weeks of suffering, the North Carolina Tar Heels are playing watchable football again.

UNC has dominated its past two opponents, Virginia and Florida State, outscoring them by a 75-25 margin. North Carolina’s offense played the best it has all year, headlined by a 5-touchdown day from Omarion Hampton against FSU, but the Tar Heels’ defense was the real difference-maker – with 17 combined sacks in their past two victories.

Before that, though, UNC truly looked like it wouldn’t win another game after losing to Georgia Tech. That wasn’t the worst part of that afternoon, though, as North Carolina lost wide receiver Tylee Craft to a long-term battle with cancer.

The Tar Heels may not phyiscally have Craft with them anymore, but they’re doing everything they can to honor his legacy.

That includes UNC’s final two homes games: Saturday, Nov. 16 against Wake Forest and Saturday, Nov. 30 against NC State, in which Kenan Stadium will have a “Tylee Strong 13” decal on the 25-yard line.

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The outpouring for Craft this season has already exceeded expectations. A different North Carolina player wears Craft’s jersey each week, starting with top wide receiver J.J. Jones during the Georgia Tech game. Virginia players donned Tylee Craft stickers on their helmets, then Florida State painted a “Tylee Strong 13” circle on the brick wall inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

With three more games to go in their current campaign, the Tar Heels can honor Craft in one more way: making their sixth-straight bowl game. UNC needs just one more victory, which is well within reach.

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Mack Brown talks about how UNC will honor Tylee Craft going forward

How will the UNC football team honor its late teammate, Tylee Craft, throughout the rest of 2024?

The North Carolina Tar Heels will try and turn their football season around Saturday at Virginia, but they’ll be doing so with heavy hearts.

UNC lost wide receiver Tylee Craft, one of the toughest kids to ever come through the program, to a lengthy battle with lung cancer on Saturday, Oct. 12. No one knew Tylee passed until after the game, when North Carolina head coach Mack Brown told his players and, shortly after, the media.

After the Georgia Tech loss, when Brown broke the sad news, he also spoke briefly about the Tar Heels’ plans to honor Tylee going forward.

Brown doubled down on those plans in his Monday press conference, highlight how Tylee will be honored through the reminder of UNC’s 2024 season.

“The players asked that we put “Tylee Strong, Keep Swinging,” signs up going into the stadium for the game, home and away,” Brown said. “We will carry a sign that says Tylee Strong, Keep Swinging to Virginia this weekend – and each player will touch it on the way out to the stadium. To make sure that his legacy is one that’s remembered – longer than just the players on the team – we have a commemorative plaque that explains who he was and what he went through. That will be up at the Nutrition Center for future players to look at. There will be a logo on the field with Tylee Strong for the last two home games, that have been approved by not only the university, but the ACC. And then one of the receivers will wear his jersey everyday at practice, and then they (the players) will decide, one of the receivers, will wear his jersey during each of the five remaining ballgames. It’ll be a different player each week, and they haven’t decided yet how they’re going to determine that.”

In addition to North Carolina’s plans in honoring Tylee, Virginia will be wearing Tylee Craft stickers on their helmets. Classy move from a big ACC rival.

The Tar Heels might be struggling big-time on the field, but you won’t find a program that cares more about its players. UNC loves and certainly misses Tylee, so I’m glad to see his former teammates and coaches carrying out his name.

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Virginia football players to honor Tylee Craft in Saturday’s UNC-UVA football game

Virginia is showing a tremendous display of class in Saturday’s Week 9 ACC football game against your North Carolina Tar Heels.

Even though it happened nearly two weeks ago, the passing of Tylee Craft to a long battle with lung cancer, still weighs heavy on the hearts within the UNC football program.

Tar Heel players knew about it shortly after the game, when head coach Mack Brown told them in the locker room. Brown then announced Craft’s passing in his postgame press conference, changing the mood very quickly and making people realize that Saturday, October 12 was no longer about football.

North Carolina still has to play a game this coming Saturday, traveling to Virginia for a 12 p.m. kickoff, but what the Cavaliers are doing to honor Craft might get you a little emotional.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, UNC wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway announced that Virginia players will wear Tylee Craft stickers on their helmets.

This doesn’t make what happened any easier, but it’s a tremendous display of class from one of the Tar Heels’ longtime ACC rivals.

For those who aren’t familiar with Craft’s recruiting background, he was initially a 4-star commit – and the seventh-ranked player in South Carolina – in the Tar Heels’ 2020 recruiting class. Craft appeared in 11 games between the 2020 and 2021 season, mainly at wide receiver and special teams, but didn’t record a stat.

Craft was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer ahead of the 2022 college football season. He then missed all of 2022 and 2023, but was a courageous warrior who wanted nothing more than to be on the football field, even if he couldn’t suit up and play.

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UNC stays put in USA Today’s latest re-rank of all 134 FBS teams

Not playing last weekend didn’t help the Tar Heels, but it also didn’t hurt them.

For once last weekend, we didn’t have to stress over how poorly the North Carolina Tar Heels played on the football field.

While games like Tennessee–Alabama and Georgia–Texas stole the show, UNC (3-4, 0-3 ACC) spent the weekend figuring out how turn its season around.

North Carolina dropped its fourth-consecutive game on October 12, losing 41-34 to Georgia Tech in a game that – literally – came down to the final possession. The Tar Heels started 2024 with three straight wins, then watched their weaknesses start getting exposed in losses to James Madison, Duke and Pitt.

Without playing last weekend, UNC stayed put at 79th in USA Today’s re-rank of all 134 FBS teams. North Carolina is one spot behind Fresno State, which rose four spots and Coastal Carolina, which fell to 80th.

The Tar Heels will hit the road this coming weekend, traveling to Virginia for a 12 p.m. contest. UNC will search for just its third win in eight tries, as it lost 31-27 to the Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2) last season in Kenan Stadium, in a game that started North Carolina’s downfall towards an 8-5 finish.

Regardless of how the Tar Heels play on Saturday, there’s no doubt they’ll be playing with heavy hearts after Tylee Craft’s recent passing. UNC honored Craft by attending his memorial service over the weekend, while head coach Mack Brown announced additional plans to honor Tylee in his press conference earlier Monday.

North Carolina needs three more wins for bowl eligibility – and Saturday is a great chance to further work towards that dream. UNC could channel its sadness into motivation, winning one for Tylee.

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North Carolina WR Tylee Craft dies at 23 after cancer battle

North Carolina mourns Tylee Craft, who died at 23 after a cancer fight

Sadness through the North Carolina football and athletic program as former Tar Heel wideout Tylee Craft died Saturday after a battle with cancer.

Craft, 23, was diagnosed with cancer in 2022 and the Chapel Hill school’s community and network rallied in support through the #TyleeStrong hashtag.

The Tar Heels honored Craft during their loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Wide receiver J.J. Jones wore Craft’s jersey with his No. 13 and last name during the game. Jones had three receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown while honoring Craft in the ACC game.

JJ Jones scores touchdown while honoring late wide receiver Tylee Craft

Seeing what J.J. Jones did to honor his late teammate, Tylee Craft, in Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech will have you in tears.

I can’t even begin to tell you how emotional the postgame press conference was after UNC’s 41-34 loss to Georgia Tech.

Sure, it was frustrating that North Carolina lost its fourth straight game and watched its season continue to spiral, but that is the furthest thing from players and coaches’ minds right now.

To open up his postgame press conference, Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown delivered the sad news that Tylee Craft, a UNC wide receiver who had been fighting lung cancer since 2022, passed away earlier this morning.

Brown didn’t tell his players until after the game, though, as he didn’t want them distracted from the task of trying to beat the Yellow Jackets.

During the game, though, North Carolina found a great way to honor Craft. The Tar Heels’ number one receiver, J.J. Jones, wore Craft’s Number 13 jersey.

Even more special for UNC and the Craft family, Jones scored a touchdown in the second quarter and honored Craft in his celebration.

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“That was so cool,” North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said of Jones’ celebration and idea to wear Craft’s jersey. “:ast night when JJ came up and said, “Would it be okay for me to wear his number, his jersey?” I said, “You want his name on the back?” He said yes. I said yes you can, but ask his mom. He (J.J.) said, “Coach one different receiver wants to wear it every week. I said, we’ll make it happen.”

Jones ended his day with 64 yards and a touchdown, his second in three games, on three receptions. Jones now has 364 receiving yards on 21 catches, good enough for 17.3 yards per catch.

Having Craft on their hearts during the game, not knowing he had already passed, must’ve been extremely heavy.

I couldn’t think of a better way the Tar Heels to honor Craft than with J.J. Jones wearing Craft’s jersey.

Thank you for being a light in the UNC football program, Tylee. You may be gone but you’re never forgotten.

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North Carolina, Mack Brown announce passing of Tylee Craft

Our condolences are with the family of North Carolina football player Tylee Craft.

North Carolina football players were playing with heavy hearts on Saturday afternoon. With former wide receiver Tylee Craft hospitalized battling stage four cancer, the program held its Cancer Awareness Day on Saturday.

But shortly after the game, the program and head coach Mack Brown announced that Craft had passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 23-years-old.

The former four-star receiver enrolled at UNC in 2020 and appeared in 11 games for the program. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in March of 2022. The cancer reached stage four and spread through his body.

Still, he was with the team as much as he could be and was even honored by the program. Craft’s battle with cancer galvanized and inspired his teammates as he was around the program a lot despite his condition.

On Saturday, his teammate J.J. Jones wore Craft’s number and scored a touchdown in the Tar Heels’ loss. He pointed to his jersey to honor Craft after the score.

Craft’s family was also recognized after the first quarter on the field, hugging what was an emotional Mack Brown.

Members of the North Carolina basketball program wore Craft shirts ahead of the Blue-White scrimmage scheduled for Saturday afternoon in the Dean Dome.

His legacy will live on at North Carolina and today is somber reminder that there are things in life bigger than football. We will keep Craft’s family, friends and teammates in our prayers.

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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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