Mack Brown breaks down his approach to Tez Walker case, feelings on NCAA

The NCAA reversed course on its eligibility ruling for North Carolina receiver Tez Walker last week, clearing the way for him to play after sitting out nearly half a season’s worth of action.

Tar Heels coach Mack Brown said he’s doing his best to look forward on the situation, but there’s still a hint of frustration in his voice when he discusses the whole ordeal.

“I told them it’s like my children, my grandchildren,” Brown explained. “If they do something wrong, there’s consequences. But if they do something right and they’re treated poorly, like we thought Tez was, we are going to fight till the end to make sure that they get justice. And that’s important. That’s all we wanted.”

The situation began after Walker transferred to North Carolina from Kent State following the 2022 season.

Walker began his college career at NC Central, before transferring to Kent State and eventually North Carolina. During the offseason, UNC requested a waiver to make Tez Walker eligible for the 2023 season. However it was denied.

The NCAA stated that Walker could not play this season because he was transferring for the second time. However, UNC argued that because NC Central’s season was canceled due to COVID-19 the one year he was there, Walker should be viewed as a first-time transfer because he had only previously played in a game at one school.

The Tar Heels administration also pointed out that Walker, who is from Charlotte, moved from Kent State back closer to home to be closer to his sick grandmother.

Still, the NCAA was unrelenting until recently.

“All we wanted was for the information that was out there to be judged properly,” Brown said. “And I understand the NCAA, we all griped when they had too many people transferring. I got that. But let’s don’t go from letting everybody transfer to letting nobody transfer, let’s have some common sense in the rule. And that’s what they did, so really and truly I’m proud of them that they were able to reverse something, that is hard to do, so I’m really proud of the NCAA and the way that they came back and handled it.”

In his debut against Syracuse, Walker recorded six catches for 43 yards. He figures to be a big part of the offense as he gets fully acclimated.

And with North Carolina sitting at 5-0 on the season, there’s a chance for this year to be a truly special one. Walker will now get to be a part of it.

“I’m so excited about Tez playing I’m looking forward,” Brown said. “I’m not going to look back. And I do think my comments were not anti-NCAA, they were for Tez. We don’t get up around here and start talking bad about the NCAA. That’s not what we’re trying to do. What we want to do is we are always going to take up for our kids.”