Alabama OC Bill O'Brien Expresses Thoughts on John Metchie Cancer Diagnosis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — At Alabama football's media day, offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien took a second to express his feelings regarding Houston Texans wide receiver John Metchie III after it was revealed back in late July that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Metchie, who played for Alabama from 2019-21 before being selected by the Texans in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, announced that he had been diagnosed with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia) and will miss the upcoming season. While APL is rare in young people, it is a treatable disease and Metchie is expected to recover.
"I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time," Metchie wrote in a statement. "As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery. Thank you in advance for your support and well-wishes. I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever. God bless."
On Sunday, O'Brien spoke to the media at the Crimson Tide's annual preseason media day. One of his first thoughts that O'Brien covered was sending his well wishes to Metchie and his family.
"On a side note — but a very important note — I just want to talk about John Metchie real quick," O'Brien said. "John Metchie is a very special guy in this program. Coach [Nick] Saban, myself, Coach [Holmon] Wiggins — we've all heard and reached out to John and we've heard from John and John is a very positive guy and our thoughts and prayers are with John as he deals with what he's dealing with.
"A great football player but an even better person."
In addition to coaching Metchie as Alabama's offensive coordinator, O'Brien was also the head coach of the Texans from 2014-20.
