CHAPEL HILL – To best understand the kind of young man Tylee Craft is, one needn’t look past the experience Kevin Roy recently had with the North Carolina wide receiver.
You see, Roy is the lead photographer for Tar Heel Illustrated and was recently diagnosed with cancer. When it was announced last month on social media, the very first person to reach out to Roy was none other than Craft.
Craft’s empathy for a man going through something so difficult, and often gruelingly ugly, was on his mind because he knew what Roy was about to experience. He’d been there before.
Craft also has cancer, diagnosed on March 14, 2022, with stage 4 large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Lung cancer.
“Just seen the news, how are you holding up,” Craft DM’d Roy on Twitter/X.
Roy: “Still new. Just got the confirmation yesterday. On to see the oncologist Monday. How are you?”
Craft: “Doing alright. Just had treatment yesterday.”
Roy: “Well, I will be there (game) Saturday, so I will probably be picking your brain if that’s OK.”
Craft: “Sure thing.”
There’s more. Two men nearly 30 years apart in age sharing something few others have. The young one looking to serve the older one in any way he could. And it helped.
Roy was still trying to process his diagnosis and what will eventually happen. His wife and two daughters were at the forefront of every thought that danced through his weary mind.
“I was surprised,” Roy said about Craft reaching out less than 10 minutes after the tweet was posted. “Not so much that he reached out, but that he even knew my situation. We’ve talked several times during the season and when he was working with the basketball team, so we have a little bit of a relationship. I always tried to check in on him to see how he was doing.”
This time, it was Craft checking in on the middle-aged photographer.
But if you ask around the Kenan Football Center, that’s how everyone views Craft. That’s who he is. When healthy, Craft is a 6-foot-5 receiver from Sumter, SC. A rangy pass catcher with long arms, soft enough hands, and a little bit of grit that can be the difference on contested passes.
Craft is that and more.
“Since we first got here and stepped on campus, when he was playing, he was a dude football-wise,” Tar Heels quarterback Jacolby Criswell said. “And as a person, that’s just the guy you always wanted to be around. Always laughing, a guy that you can rely on regardless.
“He’s not going to say anything bad, and (is) probably the most respectful person in this building. That’s a guy you always want to be around.”
Criswell and Craft arrived at UNC as part of Mack Brown’s second recruiting class in 2020, and first one built over the course of a year. Quarterbacks and receivers usually have special bonds, as they heavily rely on one another to perform their crafts.
So, seeing Craft go through the cycles that reveal the tribulations of cancer treatment can but heart-wrenching.
“Obviously, seeing what he’s going through now, it’s devastating, and you wish a type of guy like him doesn’t have to go through something like that,” Criswell said.
Roy and Craft did see each other before the James Madison game. It was the last one Roy has shot, and the last home game Craft attended.
He was supposed to be on the sideline for the Tar Heels’ game against Pittsburgh at Kenan Stadium last weekend but went to the hospital instead. Brown didn’t find out until moments before his postgame press conference. The Hall of Fame coach’s opening remarks were about Craft.
“Let me start, we talked about the disaster of the mountains last week and all the thoughts and prayers,” Brown said before fighting off tears with a lump in his throat. “Tylee Craft went into the hospital this morning and he’s really struggling. So, he needs (pause), he needs a lot of thoughts and prayers and then we’ll get to the game.”
Brown continued.
“He’s had a tough couple of years,” he said. “He was supposed to go to the game today, had to go to the hospital. So, we need everybody’s thoughts and prayers for him as he fights through some of this stuff and continues to fight because he’s had a two-year fight.”
Two days later for his weekly press conference, Brown noted a GoFundMe page for Craft, “Join Us in Tylee’s Battle Against Cancer.”
He also spoke about Craft’s mom, the family’s needs, and urged people to help in any way they can.
“I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and the GoFundMe that was put forth to try to help the family,” Brown said. “People have really stepped up and done a tremendous job in that area. So, please keep Tylee and his mom, September, in your thoughts and prayers, and please continue to support the GoFundMe program because it’s so expensive for people who are sick.”
Craft is sick. Very sick. The rough week has engenderied numerous social media posts sending prayers his way, even from former coaches and teammates, plus many fans. And from Roy, who replied to several tweets with prayer emojis.
He knows. He experienced an unsolicited act of kindness and thoughtfulness from a young man in pain, fighting the fight, and grinding for his next day. But he is also strong and wanted to extend whatever Roy needed in that moment. And he did.
Their conversation continued.
Roy: “Are you still doing radiation and chemo?”
Craft: “Had radiation a month ago. Started back chemo yesterday.”
Roy: “It’s been a long journey for you, my brother. I was glad to see you join the staff, that’s pretty awesome.”
Craft: “Def has but still fighting every day.”
Roy: “That’s all we can do. I know you have a good support system there, but if I can ever be of any help, feel free to let me know.”
Craft: “Likewise. Only a text away. I’ll see you Saturday.”
Roy: “Thanks, man. That means a lot to this old man.”
