No Saturdays for Walker, But He is Playing and Helping the Heels
CHAPEL HILL – Tez Walker might not be playing football on Saturdays this fall, due to curious and inconsistent ruling by the NCAA, but he is playing football.
It’s just that Walker is lacing up his cleats during the week and serving North Carolina’s first and second-team defenses as a member of the scout team. So, it’s not that UNC doesn’t entirely have the services of Walker this season, he’s secretly helping the defensive Tar Heels each week, and it’s somewhat a luxury, all things considered.
“It’s a blessing in disguise how everything happened,” graduate starting safety Gio Biggers said. “He’s so good, he’s a really talented player who challenges us every single day. Lines up in the slot for us, lines up out wide. He’s giving our safeties, our stars, our corners work. He’s really invaluable.
“That’s an NFL-type of receiver giving us the best look we can get.”
Walker’s much-publicized battle with the NCAA isn’t completely over, though he has been denied immediate eligibility multiple times after transferring to UNC from Kent State last winter.
At the time he entered the portal and enrolled at Carolina, a rule had not been put in place by the NCAA nullifying immediate eligibility for two-time transfers. It was in place two days after he enrolled, but deemed ineligible retroactively.
UNC recently learned that Walker is eligible to play for the Tar Heels once the fall semester is over, so they would have him for a bowl game. But they want him sooner, which is why efforts on Walker’s behalf continue.
“I know that we’ve got some really smart people that care a lot about Tez that are looking at all his options,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said. “That’s not going to change… I’ve pretty much gotten away from it, had to go back and coach. But I know there are people that are looking for his best interest.”
For now, however, Walker is the best scout team receiver in the nation, and each day during each week he is tasked at making the rotation Heels better. And sometimes, it gets a bit competitive, too.
“He’s going full speed every single time,” Biggers said. “Me and him had a pretty big collision in practice, and I had to remember, usually scouts don’t go for the ball, so I had to remember, he’s not a scout, this is Tez.”
The play?
“It had to be Pitt week, he ran a post and I’m coming from post safety coming down to make a play, and we were both going for the ball,” Biggers recalled. “Usually a scout stops, but Tez isn’t a scout, and we both collided, got up and laughed and shook it off. Nothing too crazy.”
If anyone cares for a glimpse into the fabric of this team, Walker could well be its poster child.
The Tar Heels are 4-0 and ranked No. 14 in the nation, and the vibe emanating from the Kenan Football Center going back to the spring has been about total unity, selflessness, and outstanding chemistry. Walker came from another school, but immersed himself right away, and sort of carries the torch for it now.
“Props to him for still coming every day putting a smile on his face and still be Tez Walker,” quarterback Drake Maye said.
Perhaps Biggers said it best.
“It shows the type of person Tez is, first and foremost,” he said. “Just a real team guy doing whatever he can for the team. A lot of guys who have NFL caliber talent probably would not do something like that… He’s taking another challenge, ‘hey, let me get the defense better,’ and also get himself better by playing against defensive guys.”
Walker isn’t playing on Saturdays right now, but he is playing, and is making the Tar Heels better each time he steps onto the practice field.