Tez Walker's appeal for eligibility in 2023 gets rejected again; UNC HC Mack Brown responds to this unprecedented situation

North Carolina coach Mack Brown made a statement regarding Tez Walker's eligibility on Thursday. Per the statement, the NCAA has rejected the player's appeal, and he will be ineligible for the remainder of the season.

Brown shared his disapproval of the decision:

"I don't know that I've ever been more disappointed in a person, a group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now."

He described the process as overly bureaucratic and stated that the NCAA is far more concerned with procedure for procedure's sake than it is with safeguarding the future of the student-athletes it claims to represent.

The young receiver's case hinged on whether the NCAA would decide or not to apply the rules of two-time transfers to him. Tez Walker started his collegiate journey with North Carolina Central but never played there due to COVID-19. NC Central canceled its 2020 season due to the pandemic.

Tez Walker couldn't play in the opener versus South Carolina in his home state.

From there, he went to Kent State where he played for two years, before transferring to North Carolina.

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Tez Walker Eligibility Explained

At the beginning of the year, the NCAA voted to tighten the regulations regarding the eligibility of two-time transferees like Tez Walker, who transferred on Dec. 21.

This measure was taken to curb the rise of ever-longer collegiate careers through the use of the transfer portal. Rice QB JT Daniels has played for four schools. He was with USC, Georgia and West Virginia before joining the Owls for 2023.

The statement from the North Carolina Tar Heels ended with a scathing indictment of the NCAA ruling:

"Shame on you NCAA, SHAME ON YOU"

Tez Walker's numbers

Walker was highly rated for his first season with Tar Heels, having been named to the All-ACC preseason team.

In 2022 the young receiver had a breakthrough season, recording 921 yards with 11 touchdowns on 58 receptions for the Kent State Golden Flashes.

He was also named first-team All-MAC. In 2022 he averaged an astonishing 15.6 yards per reception and had 56 long receptions in the season.

The Tar Heels face Appalachian State in Week 2.