North Carolina wide receiver Tylee Craft has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and has begun chemotherapy treatments, he announced on Twitter on Wednesday.
Craft wrote that he had been experiencing debilitating back pain and went to the hospital to get checked further. He was diagnosed with cancer March 14.
He is stepping away from football but plans on returning to the field “as soon as possible.”
“My family and I are in good spirits and we’re getting all the support we could ever ask for from the football program, the athletics department and the medical professionals here at UNC,” Craft wrote. “This part of my journey is just beginning and I’m ready to attack it head on.”
North Carolina coach Mack Brown expressed support for Craft in a tweet.
“Tylee is a great young man, who is facing a tough situation, but we’re so proud of the way he’s handling it,” Brown wrote. “Tar Heel Nation, let’s rally around Tylee and his family and lift them up with thoughts and prayers as they begin the road to recovery.”
Craft, a junior from Sumter, South Carolina, has played in 11 career games as a reserve wide receiver and on special teams.