Brian Walker leaves UNC football team

Brian Walker, a junior cornerback from Charlotte, has left the North Carolina football team, coach Larry Fedora said Monday.

Walker had played in every game before the Tar Heels’ 26-19 victory at Pittsburgh on Oct. 29. He didn’t make that trip after deciding the day before that he was leaving the team, Fedora said.

“He left on his own,” Fedora said. “... I think he’s interested in finding a place where maybe he can get more playing time.”

Walker was playing between 40 and 50 snaps per game, Fedora said, and had been the starter at the nickel cornerback position. In the base 4-3 defense, though, Walker was a backup after starting most of last season.

A former standout at Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, Walker showed promise as a freshman but struggled, like most of UNC’s defensive backfield, last year as a sophomore. Amid the arrival of a new defensive coaching staff, Walker lost his regular starting position.

Still, he was a regular part of the Tar Heels’ defensive rotation. Walker had 12 tackles and five pass break-ups in seven games this season. He intercepted three passes last season, and returned one of those for a touchdown against San Diego State on Sept. 6, 2014, and he intercepted one pass during his freshman season.

Without Walker, UNC is likely to be more reliant on cornerbacks Malik Simmons, a senior, and Mike Hughes, a freshman. Both are reserves, though Simmons is likely to play the most in Walker’s absence.

“It’s no different if you get an injury,” Fedora said of Walker’s departure. “You’ve got one less guy. So, we’ve dealt with a lot different things in that back end with our guys. So guys will step up and somebody else will have an opportunity to get those, I don’t know, 40 or 50 reps that (Walker) was getting.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Brian Walker leaves UNC football team."