ELON, N.C. – Elon wide receiver Chandler Brayboy etched his name in the history books on Oct. 19 at the University at Albany by surpassing 2,000 career receiving yards and becoming the first Phoenix to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game. However, his dreams for the future extend far beyond the gridiron.

Whether by luck or fate, Brayboy discovered his passion for nursing in high school. He pointed to one story in particular that set him on the medical path.

"My grandpa was getting older, he had something going on with him and the doctors couldn't really figure it out," Brayboy said. "I was taking a health science class in high school and we were going over Parkinson's disease. I saw a symptom that's big in Parkinson's disease, and I told my Grandpa, 'Hey Grandpa, just throw Parkinson's disease in your doctor's ears, see if you can get tested and they can check you out for that.' He got checked for that and he was diagnosed with Parkinson's."

"It just made me feel like a superhero, to be honest. It felt great, and I like helping people," Brayboy added. "That's our duty on this earth, to help one another, and I feel like that's one way I could do it."

Brayboy excelled in the classroom and on the field. A three-sport athlete at Purnell Swett High School in Pembroke, North Carolina, he seemed made to play sports. Football was where he made his biggest mark, tallying 2,780 all-purpose yards over three seasons for the Rams and winning the Sandhills Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2018. 

That was when Elon entered the picture.

"It was my only official offer, so it made it pretty obvious," Brayboy said. "It's a beautiful place to be, beautiful atmosphere. There was a great coaching staff, great academics. I'm a big academics guy outside of football. It had the whole package." 

Brayboy didn't take long to make an impact. He caught his first pass during his freshman season in 2019 and became a starter in 2021 during the spring season. Since then, he has improved continuously year after year. As a fixture on both offense and special teams, Elon has found a number of ways to get him the football, and he has made the most of it. 

Now, as a sixth-year senior, Brayboy is one of the best receivers to ever suit up in the maroon and gold. He ranks sixth all-time in receiving yards and fifth all-time in receiving touchdowns at Elon. As a specialist, he is the only Elon player ever to return multiple kickoffs for touchdowns in a career, let alone in a single game this season against Albany. In addition, he is currently fourth in school history in kickoff return yards and, with 31 more yards, will move into third place.

"I was gifted by God with a speed ability and I think that's my edge on a lot of the competition," Brayboy said. "Learning how to use speed is the key thing. It's not always 100% full speed the whole time, it's the route running, learning how to slow down and speed back up." 

Despite all the football accolades, Brayboy has remained committed to pursuing his passion in the medical field and has earned his nursing degree already. He credited the support staff around him for all he has accomplished.

"It's just the group that we've got, the academic advisors and the coaching staff," Brayboy said. "It hasn't just been me having to go through these struggles, they help me with it. Coach [Trisciani], he wanted to be a PA back in his younger days so he kind of gets the medical field, so that makes it a lot easier."

Heading into the final few games of the season, Brayboy is urging his team to finish strong, keep their heads up and love the game while doing it. While his time at Elon may be coming to a close, he is still optimistic about what the future holds.

"Of course to play in the NFL, that's the number one goal," Brayboy said. "Why play football if you aren't going to chase a gold jacket?" 

If Brayboy were to work in nursing, he said, he would work in critical care. He plans to apply to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist schools but also has a backup plan.

"If CRNA schools don't work out for me, I'll probably be a flight nurse, do that for a little bit of fun, see how that goes," Brayboy said. "If that doesn't work out, I'll just be a nurse practitioner."

Regardless of the path Brayboy ends up taking, there's one thing he is certain he wants to do moving forward.

"Take care of my family, in whatever way that comes," Brayboy said. "My family did a lot for me, going back to taking care of others. I want to go back to take care of my family."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.

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