NCAA says Tez Walker can’t play football for UNC. What are the Tar Heels doing about it?
One of North Carolina football’s key offseason additions is currently ineligible to play for the Tar Heels this season.
Citing the double-transfer rule, the NCAA denied immediate eligibility for wide receiver Tez Walker, the Charlotte native who transferred to UNC last January after playing two seasons at Kent State.
UNC coach Mack Brown said the school is appealing the decision.
“He’s followed all the rules, and then the rules were changed,” Brown said. “We feel very, very good moving forward that the NCAA will look at this and understand this isn’t a normal case of a double transfer and they’ll go ahead and accept the appeal and let him be able to play when we open up the season.”
Originally planning to enroll at East Tennessee State, Walker suffered a leg injury that caused that school to defer his enrollment in 2019. So he enrolled instead at N.C. Central in 2020, only to see the Eagles cancel their football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s when Walker transferred to Kent State, where he played the past two seasons. Last season, he was first team, all-Mid-American Conference when he caught 58 passes for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns.
After the season, Kent State head coach Sean Lewis left to become Colorado’s offensive coordinator for head coach Deion Sanders. Offensive coordinator Andrew Sowder and wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton also left Kent State, landing at Minnesota and Kansas State, respectively.
Walker, believing he was a first-time transfer since he’d only played at Kent State, entered the transfer portal and decided to return to North Carolina to play for the Tar Heels.
But two days after Walker enrolled at UNC, the NCAA adjusted its rules for second-time transfers. Thus the initial approval of his eligibility to play this season for UNC was reversed, necessitating an appeal.
Brown said Walker’s story is “the most amazing story I’ve ever seen,” not only because of his travails prior to arriving at UNC, but also because of his Charlotte-based grandmother’s poor health. UNC’s season-opening game against South Carolina at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 2 would allow her to see Walker play in person for the first time as a college player.
“She basically was very, very important in raising him,” Brown said. “And it’s very important in his life that she see him play. We’ve got eight games in the state of North Carolina. So she’s gonna see a lot of games that she couldn’t.”
In a statement, Walker said his grandmother, who lives in Charlotte, is “my rock, my everything, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”
“She took care of me when I was younger,” Walker said. “Being away from her and the rest of my family was very challenging and hard to deal with. It’s meant the world to us to be in the same area, where she’s just a short drive away and I have far more opportunities to be with her.”
The multitude of factors have Walker and UNC’s staff confident the NCAA will grant his appeal. But until word comes, they must wait.
“With all of that factored in and more, we’re hoping the people making this decision realize the stress and anxiety that comes along with this and can provide a resolution quickly,” Walker said. “I did everything within the rules to allow me to play this year, have clearly had some things happen that were out of my control, and have dealt with the mental anguish that comes along with all of it.
“I want this to be over. I want to stop feeling like this. I just want to play. I want my grandmother to come watch me. I want to be a student and an athlete and I hope those in charge give me that opportunity.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 3:37 PM.