At first, Sandy Huff didn’t think much of it — the small white reflection in the eyes of her newborn son, Nathan.
Just three months old, Sandy noticed it for the first time. She had taken a sweet photo of her baby boy, but in his left eye, a noticeable white spot. Yet, oddly enough, it was only visible in pictures.
“I brushed it off at first,” said Sandy. “I just assumed it was bad lighting. Until it started happening in every single picture we took of [Nathan].”
At Nathan’s six-month checkup, Sandy brought a few of those pictures in for his doctor to review. The year was 2009, so she had to print the photos out physically.
A photo of Nathan as a newborn baby. The white reflection in the photo was an early sign of Retinoblastoma.
“The doctor went through several things that could be causing it,” recalled Sandy. “He referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist, and said it would probably be a few months until they could get us in. We had barely made it home, and I got a call saying they wanted to see us the very next day.
“They knew exactly what it was.”
VISION & PERCEPTION
Nathan Huff, now 17 years old, is hard to miss as he walks the hallways of Greer High. He’s hard to miss at Greer’s Wednesday night football practice, too.
A standout offensive lineman for Greer, Nathan stands a solid 6-foot-4, weighing in at 280 pounds. He’s stronger than he’s ever been in his high school career, but equally leaner. Heading into his senior season with the Yellow Jackets, Nathan has high hopes for the 2026 season.
“I think we’re getting better and better as a team every day,” said Nathan. “I see improvements in every player out here almost daily.”
Nathan removes his helmet after a late practice and wipes sweat from his brow. It’s somewhat of a miracle that the 17-year-old standout is even playing football at this point, let alone being the star for Greer that he has become.
Seventeen years ago, doctors diagnosed the newborn Nathan with Bilateral Retinoblastoma — a rare form of eye cancer that affects mainly infants.
Many children diagnosed with Bilateral Retinoblastoma completely lose vision in one or both affected eyes. Some lose one or both eyes altogether. Nathan sought treatment and laser therapy for nearly five years of his young life.
The cancer was caught early for Nathan. He’s one of the more fortunate cases. He still maintains workable vision in his left eye — and perfect 20/20 vision in his right.
“My depth perception in my left eye is a little bit off. It’s a little blurry,” explained Nathan. “But I have my peripheral vision, and I’ve adjusted to sort of just using one eye mainly for getting depth perception.”
Nathan wears goggles on the field to protect his eye. Protection, after all, is sort of the name of the game for Nathan. And it’s a game few play better.
Nathan Huff makes a block on a Belton-Honea-Path defensive lineman in 2025.
As a junior in 2025, Nathan’s imposing presence on the field and ability on the offensive line were on display for all to see. He was named the 2025 4-A Region 2 Lineman of the Year.
“Nathan’s been great for us, and he’s had a very good summer,” said Greer head coach Will Young. “He’s been in the weight room hard. He’s trimmed down but also put on muscle mass. He’s just a really strong, really physical kid.
“Not to mention, he’s extremely smart. He's a total bookworm. I think he’s number four in his class academically.”
TOP OF THE CLASS & A TESTIMONY
Nathan’s story isn’t one he tells a lot. He rarely brings it up himself.
But if someone asks — be it a teammate, a teacher, a friend — he uses it as an opportunity to witness.
“My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I think He made all of this happen for a purpose,” said Nathan. “A purpose that I can tell my story to anyone who wants to know as part of my testimony. And I hope that in some way, it can provide motivation and inspiration to anyone who may need it.”
“I’m just super proud of him,” said Sandy. “As a mom, we’ve always treated him normal, and never wanted cancer to define him. And he’s certainly never let it be something that’s limited him.”
Nathan with his family after a Greer High football win in 2025.
Nathan and family still make yearly trips to St. Jude for checkups and to make sure all is still well. After age five, doctors informed Nathan that he would be safe from the tumor in his eye growing or spreading any further — as that’s the age the eyes stop growing altogether.
But Nathan’s story, like many diagnosed with Bilateral Retinoblastoma, could’ve been so much different. And he knows it. He doesn’t take any aspect of life for granted.
He takes any chance he can to put in an extra rep on the field or in the weight room. He keeps his grades in tip-top shape, boasting an extraordinary 5.2 GPA. Young was correct; that puts Nathan in the top five overall academically in Greer’s Class of 2027.
After being dealt a near-impossible hand from an age he can’t even remember, he’s made it a point to take his life by the horns in every way possible.
“There was a very high chance when I was a kid that I was going to lose my left eye,” recalled Nathan. “But the doctors came in and started doing treatments early. So that in itself is a very big blessing.
“Being able to go out and dominate on the football field, and do what I do, that’s just one more blessing that God has given me in my life.”
Nathan Huff is No. 4 of 10 of GreerNews.com's Preseason Football Player Profiles. For more coverage of Greer-area athletics, follow @GreerNewsSports on X and GreerNews.com - Sports on Facebook.
