Story by Annie Ham
Photo by Anthony Sorbellini
Most of the people who were closest to UNC-Chapel Hill football wide receiver Tylee Craft can easily describe their late friend’s undeniable athleticism.
“He was a great receiver on the outside,” said former UNC-CH wide receiver J.J. Jones, who recently signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent. “He was 6’5”. He had all the length; He had all the intangibles to be a great player.”
But Craft’s performance on the field only scratches the surface of his impact at Carolina and beyond.
In March 2022, Craft was diagnosed with an intense and rare type of stage 4 lung cancer. Now six months since his passing, his name continues to be recognized and celebrated.
This April, Craft was posthumously recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Eric Montross Public Service Award, which will be given annually to a student athlete who “exemplified outstanding engagement and service to the state of North Carolina.”
Craft was an avid supporter and advocate of cancer research and awareness, with a specific focus on increasing lung cancer screening in North Carolina. Among some of the organizations Craft was a part of included the White Ribbon Project, Team Draft, the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative and the V Foundation.
Heather Burns, director of content for the V Foundation, interviewed Craft on the Voices for Victory podcast in February 2023. Burns said Craft’s instinct to always put others first “struck” her, an observation she made after only speaking with him for about 20 minutes.
For those who knew Craft well, this first impression would not come as a surprise.
A friend, son, teammate, student, advocate, community builder and leader – Craft did not settle for mediocrity when it came to filling any of these roles.
“He was so sassy, he had so much attitude,” Amber Rinestine-Ressa, director of sports nutrition at UNC, said with a laugh. “But he was like, so full of life.”
Where cereal became a ritual
Craft could always be found at the large table that sits in the UNC Athletics nutrition center.
Two years ago, then-head coach Mack Brown changed what was once the “athletic training room” into the nutrition center, updating the space to include a few locker rooms and an area dedicated to fueling athletes, from protein shakes to full hearty meals.
Craft had always been a frequent visitor to the nutrition center, but his diagnosis made him a regular – and lovable favorite to the staff members who run the center.
Rinestine-Ressa first met Craft when she was in a temp position his freshman year. When she returned to UNC-CH in 2023 to step into her current full-time role, she wasn’t sure Craft would remember her.
Of course, she was wrong.
Craft and Rinestine-Ressa were quick to form a friendship, especially after Craft was put into “breakfast club” – which requires certain athletes to eat a full breakfast at 6 a.m. – to build up his strength during treatment.
“He was so funny, but, man, he was so quick with a comeback and so witty, because he was just so smart,” Rinestine-Ressa said.
The nutrition center became Craft’s safe space – and it is now a space where his name is ingrained.
“When Tylee started going downhill, it was very important to me that he stayed there [in the nutrition center] forever,” Rinestine-Ressa said on brainstorming ways to remember Craft after his passing.
While Rinestine-Ressa always has healthy, clean eating in mind when working with athletes, a few exceptions were made for Craft throughout his treatment, most notably, the addition of cereal into his diet – the wide receiver notorious for his obsession with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
What is now known as the Tylee Craft Nutrition Center is serving sugar cereal for the football team to indulge in, a change that even those who didn’t know Craft well can appreciate.
Taking care of us
For athletes, authentic partnerships are thought to be important for their brand and reputation. The nutrition center was about as authentic as it got for Craft, with local Chapel Hill business The Purple Bowl a very close second.
For Craft, however, it was never really about his public perception, according to Paula Gilland, founder of The Purple Bowl, who said she is “not a fan” of NIL partnerships and paid advertisements.
Craft was one of a few football players who showed up to try the food in person outside of frequent catering visits to the football stadium, Gilland said. He took it upon himself to promote the business simply because he loved it.
“He would just pop through those doors and hang out with us at the old store,” Gilland said.
An unlikely duo – college athlete and middle-aged local business owner – Craft and Gilland talked about everything under the sun, from the business happenings at The Purple Bowl to Craft’s next surprise gift for his girlfriend.
Despite Craft’s status as a “football superstar,” Gilland said he had “no air about him,” recalling that he often went out of his way to speak with the intellectually and developmentally delayed employees at The Purple Bowl who make up 10 percent of the staff.
When Craft was diagnosed, The Purple Bowl accommodated all his sustenance needs, even posting his preferences on the wall behind the prep counter. Craft’s go-to order was the Blue Magic Smoothie or a smoothie bowl with no granola, rough foods uncomfortable for him to swallow as his sickness got worse.
A former oncology nurse and mother of a current oncology physician assistant, Gilland was a resource to Craft and Rinestine-Ressa, who was educating herself on proper nutrition for cancer patients.
“It was really important for Tylee to stay here and get his treatment here because he was so woven into the community, and we felt like that helped him live longer with a horrendous diagnosis,” Gilland said.
While Craft’s closest supporters went above and beyond in looking out for him – The Purple Bowl even feeding Craft’s family and nurses in the hospital – Gilland believes his role was the greater one.
“It wasn’t like we were just taking care of Tylee,” she said. “Tylee was taking care of us.”
If Tylee can, you can too
Jones, who grew up in South Carolina before coming to UNC to play football, competed against Craft at rival high school football games before they became teammates in Chapel Hill.
“He was one of the best players in South Carolina when I was coming out of high school, and just being able to play with him in college was something I’m always going to be grateful for,” Jones said.
Freshman year, the two were roommates, their early days at UNC-CH marked by fights over who had the TV remote (Craft usually commandeered the remote control) and long travel days for games. Jones described Craft as reserved with a sense of humor that can catch you by surprise.
Academically, Craft was also committed to exceeding, said Kat Zambrana, assistant director and academic counselor for the UNC football team.
“He loved school,” Zambrana said. “He did everything the right way and had such an incredible passion for his academics.”
Despite going through intense radiation and chemotherapy, Craft still showed up to every practice and completed every assignment. When Zambrana’s other students complained, she’d say, “If Tylee can, you can too” – a commendation to Craft’s positivity and resilience.
“He enjoyed, you know, being one of the guys, and not somebody with a, you know, life-changing diagnosis,” Jones said when explaining why Craft never missed a practice.
Both Zambrana and Jones have committed to keeping Craft’s story alive in their own unique ways. Zambrana’s office now acts as a memorial for Craft, his No. 13 jersey and #TyleeStrong logo plastered to the wall surrounded by photos of Craft with friends and family.
For a portion of the 2024 season, Jones and the other wide receivers wore Craft’s No. 13 jersey at games. Jones scored a touchdown while wearing Craft’s number at the UNC v. Georgia Tech game on Oct. 12, 2024 – the same day of Craft’s passing.
“I think one of the best moments in my life now was being able to score with his number on,” Jones said.
Jones has instilled in younger players the importance of continuing to remember Craft for those who never saw him put on his shoulder pads and jersey, the new incoming coaching staff and commits among them.
Tokens of No. 13
Craft seems to have left behind symbols and secret traces of his kindness and empathy for his closest community to remember him by.
A decked out and signed football that Craft gifted to Gilland sits behind the counter at The Purple Bowl, while his final text messages to the local business owner-turned-mother-figure live in her phone: “Thanks Mama. I hope everything’s going okay today.”
Craft’s No. 13 logo from the old Kenan Stadium turf field lays in the backyard of his real mother, September Craft’s, house in Sumter, S.C. Zambrana and Rinestine-Ressa delivered the (rather large) keepsake this past spring.
At the beginning of the spring 2025 semester, Zambrana was surprised to discover that Craft had nominated her for the UNC Class of 1996 Award for advising excellence. She received the award and was given a copy of his submission that she still holds onto.
On the day of his passing, Rinestine-Ressa said there were signs, including his jersey number, 13, appearing throughout the day: “13 protein shakes left.”
When the team was told of the news, they huddled around the training table and grieved together. Since then, Rinestine-Ressa said she’s noticed how the guys have grown closer and seem to “cherish each other more,” just another hint of Craft’s continued impact.
His go-to table during his final months remains in its place at the center of Rinestine-Ressa’s office in the Tylee Craft Nutrition Center – Craft’s memory flooding the constantly buzzing room that acts as a hub for all players.
“When I come back here 20 years later, I know that Tylee will still be a part of UNC football forever,” Jones said.
