Clemson football’s Hevin Brown-Shuler opens up on cancer diagnosis, recovery timeline
Hevin Brown-Shuler showed up on Tuesday with a message.
Yes, the Clemson defensive tackle has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects the immune system. Yes, he’ll miss the 2026 season. And yes, he has a lot of chemotherapy, recovery and tough days ahead.
But Brown-Shuler is ready for the challenge.
“I am OK, and I will be back next season,” Brown-Shuler said during a news conference to discuss his diagnosis. “I’m gonna come back with a vengeance next season and do what I was recruited to do, and that’s play football.”
Brown-Shuler, 20, and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney addressed the media Tuesday to outline Brown-Shuler’s recovery process and next steps after the team announced May 19 he’d been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hodgkin lymphoma is a blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system, per Blood Cancer United. It’s “one of the most curable forms of cancer,” according to Harvard Health.
Brown-Shuler started chemotherapy the week of May 18 and has about six months of chemotherapy ahead of him, Swinney said. The defensive tackle’s recovery plan will also include staying in shape with doctor-approved workouts.
A redshirt sophomore who appeared in three games for Clemson last season, Brown-Shuler said he plans to be around the team as much as possible and stay engaged by sitting in on meetings and reviewing playbooks.
“It will be a long year ahead for him, but the prognosis is good,” Swinney said.
A GoFundMe account to help the Brown-Shuler family cover medical expenses has nearly generated over $21,000 in donations as of Tuesday afternoon.
Brown-Shuler, an Atlanta native, said his family has provided “endless support” to him already, and his mother, Meek Brown, has been commuting to be there for all of his appointments. His mom also temporarily closed the nail salon business she owns in Atlanta to focus on her son’s recovery.
“She’s my rock,” Brown-Shuler said. “She’s holding it down for me and my family right now, for sure.”
Sickness, chest pains lead to ER visit
After playing a career-high 32 snaps against Penn State in December’s Pinstripe Bowl, Brown-Shuler was positioning himself to be in the defensive tackle rotation for Clemson this season. Swinney said he’d made “strides” in spring practice.
As Clemson continued workouts in April and May, though, Brown-Shuler started to feel off. He found himself throwing up and unable to finish workouts, something he said he’s never had a problem doing in the past.
Brown-Shuler said he initially thought he had a case of the common cold, but his coughs progressed into chest pains, and he knew something was “definitely wrong.” He spoke up to Clemson’s team doctors, who checked for pneumonia.
His symptoms didn’t get any better, and team physician Dr. Len Reeves recommended an emergency room trip. That ER trip revealed a mass in Brown-Shuler’s chest, and a biopsy revealed Hodgkin lymphoma.
“I’m a 20-year-old kid getting told, ‘You’ve got cancer,’” Brown-Shuler said. “But I think the part that most messed with me, which is crazy, was the football aspect, knowing I couldn’t be out there with my team.”
Clemson football has been intentional in its support of Brown-Shuler, promoting his family’s GoFundMe and pouring into his well being privately. Brown-Shuler said Swinney and defensive tackles coach Nick Eason are in constant communication with him, and teammates like Vic Burley have dropped by to check in on him.
Swinney said Brown-Shuler informed the team of his diagnosis about three weeks before he announced it publicly and the fact the news didn’t leak “encouraged” him and was reflective of Clemson football’s family atmosphere.
“That meant the world,” Brown-Shuler said. “... That’s a testament to them and how close we are. That’s just culture. You can’t teach that. That’s something that’s instilled in a program and one of the reasons why I came here.”
Staying ‘strong’ for the path ahead
Clemson signed a transfer defensive tackle late in the cycle, Texas State’s Devarrick Woods, after learning Brown-Shuler wouldn’t be available for 2026.
Swinney said the team will file an NCAA medical redshirt waiver for Brown-Shuler, who currently has three years of eligibilty remaining and redshirted in 2024. The waiver would allow him to play three more years of college football in 2027, as opposed to losing a year of eligibility in 2026 as he recovers.
Hundreds of people have reached out to Swinney and Brown-Shuler, including Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi (who had a player, now-NFL running back James Conner, battle Hodgkin lyphoma while playing at Pitt) and Stephen Garcia (the former South Carolina quarterback who’s currently fighting Stage 4 colorectal cancer).
“That’s what football does,” Swinney said. “We all compete and wear certain logos, but football is family. That’s been a neat thing to see.”
Brown-Shuler said it’s not lost on him his diagnosis could’ve been worse, and he’s in a unique position as a college football player with excellent medical resources.
He said he’s in a “good spot” mentally and is already improving physically after his first round of chemotherapy in Greenville last week.
“I’m using it more as a building year, personally,” Brown-Shuler said. “To build my mindset and just show I’m mentally strong and you can really push through anything. This is just adversity. ... Every person in the world goes through it.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 2:10 PM.
