Keeping It Heel
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UNC Football: Coach Brown “You Are Not In It By Yourself”

By Aaron Conrad

Sep 25, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown looks on from the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown looks on from the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Right after the UNC Football program’s win against Virginia Tech, Head Coach Mack Brown delivered powerful words for his player Tylee Craft and anyone fighting cancer. 

“You are not in it by yourself.”

Those were the words of the Tar Heels Head Coach Mack Brown as his team celebrated a 41-10 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. The moment was captured on Twitter by Ross Martin.

My fellow writers and contributors here at Keeping It Heel have many recaps of the game and analytics. I too celebrated the Tar Heels’ victory to move to 4-1 on the season. I was captured by coach Brown’s words and emotions regarding his player and all of those facing cancer.

If you are not familiar, UNC receiver Tylee Craft was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer on March 14, 2022. The doctors at UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center immediately began an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on Craft.

He is just 20 years old.

Craft’s story is best told on the Lineberger.org website and by the ACC Network.

My guess is that many of us that are reading this can identify at least one friend or family member that we know that is currently fighting cancer. Maybe that is why the emotion of Coach Brown was so powerful. Maybe that is why his words meant so much.

It’s odd to say that a team that is 3-1 got a “much-needed win” on Saturday to move to 4-1. It’s equally odd to say that a 20-year-old athlete is battling stage IV cancer. Maybe that is why Coach Brown was so emotional when asked about Craft specifically.

We here at Keeping It Heel continue to hope for a recovery for Craft and that we will again write articles about his contributions on the field. Until then, in the words of Coach Brown:

“It’s a tough fight, but you are not in it by yourself.”

Next. UNC Football: Quick Hitters North Carolina vs Virginia Tech. dark

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