CLEMSON – Every day since coming to play football at Clemson, Hevin Brown-Shuler has received a phone call from his mom, Meek, a businesswoman and speaker by trade. Every day, even if the calls are short, the questions are familiar.

“She calls me every day, even if it’s like, ‘Hey, like, have you eaten today?’ Brown-Shuler said. “Like, ‘What do I need to send you, to send home?’ or anything like that.”

When Brown-Shuler, a defensive tackle for the Tigers, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last month, changes happened rapidly. Treatment plans. Absences from workouts. Redshirt wavers. 

Through the turbulent weeks, however, Meek Brown remained the same.

“The funny thing is, my mom said that she wasn’t going to treat me no different,” the 20-year old said. “So, that’s always good to hear that. Me and my mom kind of joke about that a little bit. So, that’s always good.”

While Brown’s support of her son, accompanied with a few playful motherly digs have stayed the same, much of her life has changed since the diagnosis, which came after Brown-Shuler felt chest pains and struggled to get through workouts that were typically routine.

The Atlanta, Ga., native was forced to shut down her business, “Perfect Polish Nail Lounge,” which opened in 2023, to be available to attend treatments in the Upstate as needed. Brown, also a motivational speaker, now will shift her encouragement abilities to helping her son get through what defensive tackles coach Nick Eason called “his first slice of real life.”

“Just to kind of see her, just as like a business woman, having to shut down her entire business just to help me and still stay on the float, still staying on top of everything, coming down here for every doctor’s appointment, every doctor’s visit.  I mean, that’s just inspirational in itself,” her son said. “And she’s just doing it just like her. So that’s why she’s my rock. She’s holding it down for me right now and me and my family for sure.”

According to Brown-Shuler, and head coach Dabo Swinney, the support has poured in not just from family, but from teammates and coaches at Clemson, as well, after keeping the news under wraps for several weeks. 

Like Brown-Shuler’s mom, fellow defensive tackle Vic Burley made it clear that he would treat his “little brother” exactly the same through chemotherapy, sickness, and hardship. 

Of course, isn’t that what the best brothers do?

“I think in the D-Tackle room I probably hang out with at least one person at least every day,” Brown-Shuler said. “I remember the other day Vic Burley,  who was kind of like my big brother when I first got here, I remember he just came over to my house just to say, ‘Yo.’ Me and him just chopped it up for about two hours, got some food. It’s just like the little things like that I take really seriously. And just like that won’t that couldn’t be matched. Like that’s just a culture thing like I said earlier like that’s just in this program.”

On Saturday, as the news became public, Brown-Shuler’s godparents set up a GoFundMe page for the defender, receiving nearly 200 donations to the tune of 25,000 dollars in its first four days. Among the donors are several Clemson football parents, running back Gideon Davidson, and dozens of other anonymous givers.

What once started as a disheartening doctor’s visit turned into an outpour across the nation.

Brown-Shuler may be leaning on his family, teammates, and coaches in this time, but the support has come from all over the Upstate, and far beyond. According to Swinney, it has even spread to former South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia, who was also recently diagnosed with cancer.

Like Brown’s phone calls, like Burley’s food runs, and like a bursting GoFundMe page, the connection meant more than any football game. 

Brown-Shuler is not gearing up for his third season of mandatory practices and fall camp this year. He is not currently building off of a successful spring and bowl game appearance on the field. While football is not the priority right now for his family, it has provided the support and resources to make sure that, in a year, this will only be one slice of Brown-Shuler’s story.

In the meantime, he will still expect daily calls from his mom, and support from Clemson football.