By R.L. Bynum

With Carolina’s opener with South Carolina in Charlotte coming up on Saturday night, Coach Mack Brown says they are still waiting to hear back from the NCAA about the status of wide receiver Tez Walker.

It’s a tremendous source of frustration for Walker, a transfer from Kent State, and the entire program.

Late Friday afternoon, Brown released the following statement, which included some strong words:

“Our institution has been pushing for Tez’s case to be reviewed by the assigned committee, so that it could be heard prior to our first game. But, the NCAA’s unwillingness to provide clarification over the last few weeks has left us in this position.

“At this point, everyone knows the details of Tez’s journey to North Carolina, and the overwhelming opinion of those around the country is that he should be playing tomorrow, and this should have been resolved months ago.

“I can’t express my disappointment in the NCAA strong enough. The NCAA has been reluctant to consider the real issues of mental health, COVID and rule changes that have impacted Tez’s personal journey. They say they’re about helping kids, but all they’ve done is add to the very mental health issues Tez has been dealing with that made him want to get closer to home to begin with.

“You can’t say you’re about helping kids and then show a total disregard for the kids you’re supposed to be helping. It’s clear they are about process and not people. Fortunately, the committee still has a chance to recommend a correction to this egregious error. We look forward to them hearing his case, and recommending the only outcome this case deserves, that Tez Walker should be eligible to play.”

Walker, named to the preseason watchlist for the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s best pass-catcher, tied for the Mid-American Conference lead and was seventh in the country last season with 11 touchdown receptions. Over two seasons at Kent State, he caught 63 passes for 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Walker released a copy of a letter he sent Friday to NCAA president Charles Baker:

He had been excited about playing this weekend in his hometown of Charlotte, close to his grandmother, before the NCAA ruled that he wasn’t eligible.

The game in Charlotte kicks off at 7:44 p.m. Saturday (ABC).

UNC schedule

Month/ date	Opponent/event	2023 record	UNC record in series
April
20	Spring game, 3 p.m.	—	—
August
29 (Thurs.)	at Minnesota	6–7	1–0
September
7	Charlotte	3–9	0–0
14	N.C. Central	9–3	0–0
21	James Madison	11–2	3–0
28	at Duke	8–5	65–40–4
October
5	Pittsburgh	3–9	12–5
12	Georgia Tech	7–6	22–33–3
26	at Virginia	3–9	66–58–4
November
2	at Florida State	13–1	3–17–1
16	Wake Forest	4–8	72–36–2
23	at Boston College	7–6	6–2
30	N.C. State	9–4	68–39–6