Why NCAA ruling on Tez Walker is such a huge blow for North Carolina, star QB Drake Maye

Not long into North Carolina spring practice, a Tar Heels source had already seen enough of Tez Walker to comfortably throw out this opinion of the former Kent State wide receiver.

“He’ll be an all-conference guy,” the source said.

Despite losing two-time first-team All-ACC selection Josh Downs to the NFL, North Carolina had been very confident throughout the offseason about the supporting cast for star QB Drake Maye. That was largely thanks to adding the combination of Walker and former Georgia Tech wide receiver Nate McCollum through the transfer portal. Walker specifically was so impressive and productive at Kent State last season that he was a first-team All-MAC selection and entered this year firmly on the radar for NFL scouts as a potential top four round prospect for the 2024 NFL draft.

It’s what makes the news Tuesday such a huge blow for Walker, Maye and the Tar Heels. The NCAA denying Walker’s waiver for immediate eligibility takes away Maye’s most talented weapon at wide receiver and makes the task of building on his ACC Offensive Player of the Year season from last year that much more challenging.

Maye and Walker had connected for a 35-yard touchdown during UNC’s spring game in April.

“Tez can take the top off the defense,” Maye said after the spring game. “People often just talk about his speed, but he’s a good route runner. … He goes up and gets it, too. He’s a big receiver. He’s tall. He’s got a big catch radius, so it’s easy to throw to a guy like him.”

The circumstances of Walker’s situation makes the NCAA ruling even harder to digest for the Tar Heels. Walker, who began his college career at NC Central before transferring to Kent State and North Carolina, joined the Tar Heels in January under the immediate eligibility rules that were in place at that point according to North Carolina head coach Mack Brown. The rules then changed two days after he enrolled and he wasn’t grandfathered in to the old rules, per Brown.

Walker’s one season at NC Central in 2020 was canceled due to COVID. Then, after recording five catches in his first year at Kent State in 2021, he broke out with 58 catches, 921 yards and a MAC-high 11 touchdown catches last season. The touchdown catch total tied for seventh-best nationally.

Walker’s profile had been very much set to grow even more this season. And he’d been set to be a huge part of UNC’s offense.

Now, that may not happen. That’s unfortunate for Walker. It’s also a new obstacle that Maye and the Tar Heels need to overcome.

North Carolina is appealing the NCAA ruling.

“For some time now, I’ve been working with the administration at the University of North Carolina to be eligible for this season,” Walker said in a statement. “When I made the decision to transfer from Kent St. back to my home area at UNC, I did so thinking I would be able to play this year. The way the rules were set up at the time, we knew we’d have to file a waiver as a two-time transfer, and in previous years, those waivers were being granted. But, after entering the portal and enrolling in classes, the NCAA voted to change the rule on two-time transfers and denied my waiver.”