In November 2023, George Villis of the University of New England football team was diagnosed with T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma, a rare subtype accounting for less than 10 percent of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Median age of diagnosis is in the late 50s, but Villis was just a sophomore in college. 
 
Only about eight months later, the cheers from the dining hall rang throughout campus as head coach Mike Lichten called Villis to the front of the room during a preseason dinner. The Nor'easters were finally reunited with teammate George, now a cancer survivor.
 
The journey back to football was challenging, but led Villis to suit up for the start of the 2024 season. Early detection is key, and Villis had recognized some troubling symptoms during football season, yet it was not until around Thanksgiving that he learned the true cause of his ailments.
 
"If I wasn't so stubborn, we would've caught it earlier," Villis admitted. "I was playing football and starting. I worked hard to get there and didn't want to step away from that."

Once he did see his doctor following the end of the season, he learned that lymphoma was not beyond the realm of possibility.
 
"I was planning for the worst," said Villis. "People around me were hoping for the best, but I was fully prepared that this is what it was going to be."
 
Days later, he received the heartbreaking news.
 
"It was really soul-crushing," Villis recalled about the day he was diagnosed. "Having to go home and tell my family was one of the hardest parts. I wanted to stay strong for them."
 
Knowing he would be unable to finish the fall semester on campus, and would be at home in New York through spring, Villis made the trip to UNE in order to move out of his residence hall and had a strong confidence that he would be back in Biddeford come move-in day 2024.
 
"I knew as soon as I got that news that I was just going to put my head down and do as much as I could, and I'd be back on the field," Villis stated with certainty.
 
Despite his optimism, missing spring practice proved challenging for Villis, who finds joy in the camaraderie that is built out-of-season.
 
"I'm a big offseason guy," he said. "I love the bonds that you create and the work you have to put in together as a team. Missing out on that was really tough."
 
What got Villis through that trying time, marked by chemotherapy and separation from the life he loves on campus? Faith, family, and of course, football. This was not the first time he suffered a significant setback and needed to go above and beyond to once again strap on the helmet. In 2019, Villis was playing a game with his brother at a summer camp when he hit his head, causing an eight-inch laceration, resulting in 10 stitches and hemoglobin dropping to life-threatening levels. As he sat in the ambulance, he told his mother he would play football in the fall, and he made good on that promise.
 
The adversity Villis faced as teenager helped reaffirm that, with dedication and persistence, difficult comebacks are possible.
 
"Honestly, it was just another time football and my faith helped me power through," Villis said. "It helped knowing I had come back from something before."
 
With the support of his family, his teammates and coaches at UNE, along with his high school football coach — whom he often visited between treatments — Villis was nearing his final round of chemotherapy and his hopes of returning to football were on the 1-yard line.
 
"We were very confident after the last treatment that I should be going back to UNE as planned, but obviously, you don't know for sure," Villis said.
 
Only the results of a PET scan stood between George and his return to the gridiron once the final treatment was completed. When those results came, the Villis family was told that George's cancer was in remission.
 
"Amped up," Villis said, describing the feeling on that early-April day. "We were just ecstatic and my dad was yelling."
 
A few months later, Villis was back on the field with his teammates for the first practice of the 2024 season.
 
"It was a wonderful feeling," Villis remembered. "A lot of guys were coming up to me and congratulating me. I realized the weight of everything I went through. Even though I was separated from them, I knew I had those guys in my corner, cheering me on the whole time."
 
On Sept. 7, 2024, Villis laid out his No. 36 jersey and took it all in before dressing for UNE's season opener at Coast Guard.
 
"It was nerve-wracking going into that game," Villis admitted. "After everything I'd been through, and because I'd been away from it other than the weeks of practice I had leading up, but I got to put my pads on, wear my jersey and represent UNE on the field again. It was an amazing feeling."
 
Two weeks later, the Nor'easters hosted Gallaudet for their home opener and Villis was able to once again play in front of the home crowd, something he had long been anticipating.
 
"It's always great to play at home, and that's really the moment I was waiting for," he said. "Because you spend so much time on the field, it really becomes like a second home."
 
UNE won that game, earning its first victory of the season, and the postgame excitement was just how Villis remembered it.
 
"You get to see everyone after the game and we're all ecstatic," he fondly recalled. "You go to the tailgates, hang out with everyone and enjoy the win. It's always great."
 
UNE later hosted Dean in early October for homecoming and Villis, a linebacker, made four tackles to help the Nor'easter defense record its first shutout in program history. He totaled 16 tackles in the 2024 season, which culminated in a win over Husson – UNE's first since 2019 – to take home the lobster trap trophy.
 
"George is such an impactful leader and player for us," Lichten said. "His strength, determination and positive outlook are testaments to his character, upbringing and courage. His toughness is inspiring as he has proven there is no challenge he can not overcome. I cannot wait to watch him perform again this fall."
 
With his journey from cancer diagnosis back to UNE, along with a successful return to the field completed, Villis faces life with a strengthened mindset, influenced by his experiences over the past year and a half.
 
"I don't take things for granted," Villis reflected. "A lot of football players, and people in general, don't think about how many might have wanted to play, but couldn't. You never know when it could be taken away.
 
You have to show up for everything, put in the work, and enjoy it while it lasts. No matter what you go through, always keep fighting."
 
That was a recent theme at Camp Saint Paul, a summer camp where Villis annually has the chance to serve as a role model for children aged 8-17, some of which aspire to be college athletes.
 
Now, spring ball at UNE is in full swing and Villis feels more like himself after spending plenty of time in the gym during the offseason.
 
"I was probably just as excited for this spring as I was during freshman year," said Villis, who will begin his senior year next fall. "The anticipation has been building and being back on the field with the guys has been just as fun as ever."
 
It is safe to say Villis will be cherishing every day in his final year at UNE, especially the fall Saturdays.