A confession: Human interest, so-called "tear jerker" stories aren't really for me. Don't really watch or read them, no interest in writing them. That may be an ugly thing to confess as a writer myself, but it's the truth. They've just never been my thing. And after reading David Hale's story for ESPN on NC State defensive coordinator DJ Eliot and his incredible daughter Drue, I think it's because so few are as well-crafted and as moving as this one.
Drue Eliot was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer at age 12 in 2019 and died Sept. 26, 2025, at age 18.
In the six years in between, the Eliots devoted everything they had to Drue's treatment, and to continuing to live their lives as best they can. Those are two interconnected and difficult things. For DJ Eliot, that meant a coaching career that had its customary ups and downs; the game didn't care that his daughter was battling cancer. He spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator for Les Miles's Kansas, one season as the defensive coordinator at Temple, one season as the linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, one season as an analyst for Baylor, and this past season running NC State's defense. He was let go as part of staff-wide moves twice, spent one season out of the game completely, and another working from home.
Drue is how and why DJ kept going, kept coaching, when it would've been far easier not to.
"She lived so much more than most people," DJ told ESPN. "In her short time, she loved more than most people love in a lifetime. She fought more than most people fight in a lifetime. And she had more joy than most people have. And I think that's because every day was borrowed time."
We all think we know what adversity means, until real adversity hits. How the Eliots continued on through their all-too-real adversity is worthy of the type of story that Hale wrote, and I offer my highest recommendation to carve out the time and read it. You'll be glad you did.