UNC's Shipp to Carry Tylee Craft’s Legacy into Clemson Showdown

North Carolina will have a big game against Clemson at Kenan Stadium on Saturday. Wide receiver Jordan Shipp will hope to continue his strong season against the Tigers

Shipp leads North Carolina with 13 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns this season. Last year, as a freshman, he caught nine passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. But the numbers on the stat sheet pale in comparison to the significance of the number he will wear on his jersey Saturday.

Rolling with the classics for Game 5️⃣.

With one special change for @JordanShipp15 🩵#TyleeStrongForever pic.twitter.com/46hXBG1fnW
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) October 2, 2025

Shipp will wear No. 13 when North Carolina hosts Clemson at Kenan Stadium on Saturday. The Greensboro native is switching from his usual No. 1 jersey to No. 13 to honor his former teammate and wide receiver, Tylee Craft, who passed away last season on October 12, 2024, after battling cancer. Craft, who would have celebrated his 24th birthday this past Wednesday, fought courageously against stage four large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, a rare form of lung cancer.

Craft's Legacy

UNC — Oct 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown and September Craft hug during a tribute to former player Tylee Craft who died of Lung Cancer. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

UNC's football program released a 20-minute video on social media honoring Craft. The mini-movie features interviews with Craft, his UNC teammates, coaches and support staff.

"I would thank Tylee just for being such a fighter. Just to see somebody that young and that talented go through what he was going through, that's very emotional for a lot of us," Shipp said during the video.

𝐓𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞

Happy Birthday Tylee, this is for you.#TyleeStrong pic.twitter.com/e1LoJYgtcj
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) October 1, 2025

"Just seeing the way he carried himself and the way he really handled his business, was definitely something that I wanted to take from him and try and grow. Keep swinging, to us, you got to keep fighting through everything. You get knocked down, you get back up and keep fighting. That's how he lived through. He got knocked down, he got up and kept fighting. ... He just ran out of time with the fight. I just thank him for just living like that and really continuing just to live and keep fighting, keep swinging and keep pushing through. For that, Tylee, I thank you and I love you."

Craft joined North Carolina as part of the Tar Heels’ 2020 recruiting class, standing out as a 6-foot-5 wide receiver from Sumter, South Carolina. During the two seasons prior to his diagnosis, he appeared in seven games and contributed both at wide receiver—logging 36 snaps—and on special teams, where he saw action on 23 plays. He did not record a reception throughout his career.

Despite his diagnosis, Craft remained an active presence in the program, consistently attending practices and supporting his teammates as a student coach throughout his treatment. He earned his degree from UNC in May 2024.

Craft is honored inside the Kenan Football Center with a plaque that reads, "Tylee Strong Keep Swinging." The Tar Heels also named the team’s nutrition center, located across from the locker room, in his honor.

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