As Logan Muckey left Faurot Field following the Missouri Tigers’ 52-10 win against Louisiana, someone in the crowd caught his attention.
A man waved Logan over to the stands. He wanted to introduce his son, who wore a Mizzou football jersey with the number 82 on it: Logan’s number.
“He told me, ‘This is my son, he’s a cancer survivor, too. When we heard your story, we immediately became fans and got your jersey,’” the wide receiver and graduate student said. “To see a kid who probably went through something harder than I did, looking up to me as a source of inspiration, that caught me.”
Just six months earlier, Logan didn’t know he had cancer. In his mind, the most remarkable part of his story was his journey to college football.
But after a thyroid cancer diagnosis, he was awestruck by something far more powerful: His family, teammates, coaches, trainers, doctors and nurses who were there for him when he needed it.
“I never felt alone through a single second of this,” Logan said. “It felt like I was being lifted up and carried through the whole situation.”
Earn Everything
Growing up in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Tiger football was always something Logan loved. Watching Jeremy Maclin and Drew Lock suit up in the black and gold, he made it a personal goal to do the same someday.
“When I got a walk-on offer at Mizzou, it was something that didn’t need much thought,” he said. “For me to live out that dream of playing college football close to home at an amazing university, phenomenal campus and coaches — everything about this place just screamed at me. Every day, it’s an honor to be here and represent this place.”
Walking on to any football team — let alone one in the Southeastern Conference — is no easy task.
“When you walk on, the only thing you’re promised is an opportunity,” Logan said. “You have to earn everything. For me, that’s all I needed: A chance to prove myself — come here and work and show who I am and what I’m about.”
Logan knew he’d have to work harder at practice, in the weight room and in the classroom than he ever had, for much less. Getting even one snap in a game would be an achievement.
His first big test came during his freshman season: He broke his collar bone and had surgery at MU Health Care’s Missouri Orthopaedic Institute.
“Coming out of that injury, I thought, ‘I really have to work now,” Logan said. “I’m no longer playing catch-up. As a walk-on, I’m playing catch-up to the catch-up.”
Facing down even longer odds, Logan chose to embrace the challenge. He and his roommate and high school teammate Tommy Lock — Drew Lock’s younger cousin — committed to hours of extra film study and workout sessions.
That attention to detail earned Logan a private conversation with head coach Eliah Drinkwitz ahead of the 2023 Cotton Bowl — and a scholarship offer.
“Pushing myself to be the best person, player, teammate I could be shaped me into the person I am today,” Logan said. “Calling my parents and telling them, ‘I did it. This was the right decision.’ That was a very fulfilling moment for me.”
There’s No Way
In March 2025, Logan came back from Spring Break feeling miserable. His throat was extremely sore, and he couldn’t stop coughing. He got to the football facility for a workout at 5 a.m. the next morning in even worse shape.
“I told the trainer, ‘I can’t take a full breath in,’” Logan said. “My throat hurts, I can’t speak, I’m struggling to get words out. He took a look, and my tonsils were the size of my throat.”
Logan sat for a neck CT scan, which revealed a severely infected abscess on his tonsil. His medical team drained the abscess.
But they told Logan they had noticed something else: They took a needle biopsy of a small lump, or nodule, on his thyroid. Two days later, Logan was told the doctors at MU Health Care’s Ellis Fischel Cancer Center were 90% sure it was cancer. He needed to meet with the team for a full diagnosis.
“At that point, my heart dropped,” Logan said. “Cancer? There’s no way. I’m 22, I play college football, I don’t have any bad habits. It was a shocking and scary moment. I didn’t know what to do.”
Logan called his family to tell them the news, then went back to his apartment. Tommy, his roommate, knew something was off. Logan filled Tommy in, and after he shared his diagnosis, Tommy asked Logan if he wanted to keep their scheduled tee time that afternoon.
“We kept that tee time, and I needed it,” Logan said. “I said, ‘We have to go, and I’m about to have the best round of my life.’ I shot terribly, but I had fun.”
Overwhelmed With Love
Still anxious and uncertain about his future, Logan went to his first meeting with ear, nose and throat surgeon Tabitha Galloway, MD, looking for good news.
Thankfully, she had plenty.
“Because the CT scan showed us that nodule, Logan was very early staged,” Galloway said. “We were able to quickly diagnose Logan and start preparing him for treatment.”
Logan had papillary thyroid cancer, which is the most common type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland. Between 90 and 99% of patients who are diagnosed are alive and healthy 10 years after treatment.
“Once I started talking with Dr. Galloway is when I started feeling comfortable, because she is a straight arrow,” Logan said. “I had all the faith in the world in her and her team.”
Galloway is one of two ENT surgeons at MU Health Care, and just 200 in the United States, to have a focused practice designation in surgically treating complex thyroid and parathyroid conditions in adults.
“Logan’s a very stoic guy, and he made it clear that he wanted to fully return to football,” Galloway said. “At MU Health Care, we have all the pieces in place to comprehensively care for each patient from diagnosis through monitoring. Everyone, including our endocrinologists, pathologists, ultrasound techs, operating room staff and our dedicated thyroid nurse-navigator, work together to give all our patients the best chance we can to resume their normal lives.”
Logan’s tumor was the size of a pea on one half of his thyroid, which meant surgery was the best treatment. Just before his 23rd birthday, Galloway made a small incision, removed the affected half of his thyroid, closed Logan up and sent him home the same day.
MU Health Care is home to multiple surgeons, Galloway included, who perform at least 30 thyroid surgeries per year. That was another source of comfort for Logan and his family.
“She made it seem like another Tuesday,” Logan said.
He has a two-inch scar across his neck, right where a shirt collar sits, that Galloway expects will fade with time. The only other lasting impact was 14 days of mandatory rest and recovery, which he took at home in Lee’s Summit.
“I was overwhelmed with love,” Logan said. “This was the darkest time of my life, and I had never been in a position where I needed people like that. But it was overwhelming. Whenever I think about it, I'm just full of love, full of support, full of pride in my friends and my family and my teammates.”
On Cloud Nine
Less than three months after first getting sick, Logan’s doctors fully cleared him to return to activity.
“Logan is enrolled in just our surveillance program now, so we check on him every six months for the next few years,” Galloway said. “He was very caring, and also very motivated to get back to playing for the Tigers. And as a cancer surgeon, it’s so satisfying to see them thriving in what they want to do. That's why we do this.”
The support he got, especially from his trainers and doctors, are things Logan will always remember for helping him preserve a dream — one that he now gets to share with kids in Columbia and beyond who are also survivors or still going through cancer treatment.
“There was a thought in my mind four months ago that I wouldn't be able to do this,” Logan said. “I was on cloud nine coming back for fall camp. I got to go out and play ball. I feel like that was probably one of the happiest, best practices I've ever had, doing what I love at the place that I love the most.”