North Carolina football played its first four weeks without Devontez ‘Tez’ Walker. That will no longer be the case!
Walker was one of the top players to enter the transfer portal last offseason after a massive year at Kent State. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver caught 58 passes for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Golden Flashes last fall.
Walker ultimately received multiple offers, but chose to play for the Tar Heels. Head coach Mack Brown had a great offense last season, led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarter Drake Maye.
Walker wanted to catch passes from Maye. Perhaps more importantly, though, he wanted to move back closer to home in Charlotte so that he can help take care of his aging grandmother.
She revealed back in August that Walker served as her primary caregiver after knee and hip replacement surgery earlier this year. His move from Kent State to UNC was largely for her.
However, there were some eligibility issues that kept him off of the field at first. He initally enrolled at North Carolina Central out of high school in 2020, but never played a snap during the pandemic.
And then he transferred to Kent State.
College football players are allowed to transfer one time without penalty. Walker technically used his one-time transfer to go from the HBCU program to the G5 program.
As a result, when Walker transferred to UNC, the NCAA initially denied his waiver to obtain eligibility. The NCAA put out an incredibly lame statement about the decision, which did not help optics.
To make matters worse, the NCAA contends that it was all UNC’s fault. UNC disagrees.
Either way, justice has been served.
Tez Walker is back!
Walker did not play in the first four games of 2022 because he was not eligible. On Thursday, the NCAA overruled its initial decision and granted him eligibility for the rest of the year. Finally.
An emotional video posted by the Tar Heels’ team account shows the exact moment in which Walker found out he is eligible. The elation and relief is tangible through the screen.
Walker will get back on the field for his first game with his new team against Syracuse on Saturday. It has been a long time coming.