By R.L. Bynum
A season with plenty of Tez Walker highlight-reel catches that began with the wide reciver ineligible for four games will be his only one at Carolina. That was confirmed late Thursday night when the Senior Bowl announced that he had accepted an invitation to the game.
He’ll join UNC linebacker Cedric Gray in the game, to be played at noon Saturday, Feb. 3, in Mobile, Ala. (NFL Network), meaning that he’ll skip his last season of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.
On Friday, Inside Carolina reported that Walker will opt out of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27, (ESPN) when UNC (8–4) faces West Virginia (8–4).
Walker caught 41 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns for UNC after catching 63 passes for 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons at Kent State.
After the NCAA finally ruled Walker eligible, he caught six passes for 43 yards in his UNC debut on Oct. 7 in the Tar Heels’ 40–7 home win over Syracuse.
The next week, in the 41–31 home win over Miami, he caught six passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns, then 11 catches for 146 yards and one touchdown on Oct. 21 in the 31–27 loss to Virginia.
Walker’s best yardage game this season was in the 47–45 two-overtime home win Nov. 11 against Duke, when he caught seven passes for 162 yards.
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 |
Photo via @UNCFootball
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