Tez Walker needed UNC’s support. When the Tar Heels needed Walker, he delivered
Tez Walker is only eligible because some clever lawyer on North Carolina’s cast of thousands figured out that submitting “new evidence” was the best way to give the NCAA a face-saving exit from a pointless mess of its own creation.
Here’s some new evidence, as of Saturday night: Walker was clearly worth the effort.
Not only was North Carolina right all along that the NCAA’s refusal to give Walker a waiver was inconsistent with its own policies, North Carolina was right all along that Walker was a true difference-maker, the kind of player who can turn not only a game but maybe even a season around.
It only took Walker one full week of practice to prove it.
That’s what Mack Brown swore, up and down, back when he thought Walker would be playing and after he found out he wouldn’t, but nobody really knew. It was an article of faith. And Walker was a bit player in his UNC debut last week with only a couple days to prepare for the win over Syracuse.
Saturday, as the 12th-ranked Tar Heels cleared their biggest hurdle to date with a 41-31 win over No. 21 Miami to move to 6-0, Walker’s three touchdown catches left absolutely no doubt.
“Honestly, it just felt nice to be back in a groove,” Walker said
Any competent receiver could have scored Walker’s first touchdown against Miami on Saturday, thanks to a cornerback who looked like he thought he had safety help but didn’t, letting Walker run inside him on the way to the end zone.
But the second, when he beat Jaden Davis deep so badly that Davis could only jump in a helpless attempt to tip away Drake Maye’s 50-yard heave, was all Walker. It was the kind of separation that a player with elite speed and route-running ability can get, a true weapon in the deep-passing game when a defense tries to play him one-on-one.
It’s probably an oversimplification to say that the win over Miami turned on that one play, given that North Carolina forced a fumble on the goal line early to save seven points – Jahvaree Ritzie’s right knee, also a game-changer – and there were a staggering 21 penalties, including one on a Miami coach, but the Tar Heels certainly needed it after trailing at halftime. After that, they never looked back.
Walker’s third touchdown, when he worked his way across the field to get open for a 33-yard catch-and-run, extended the Tar Heels’ lead and altered the trajectory of North Carolina’s entire season, with a taunt to the Miami fans thrown in as well, mocking their “U” hand gesture.
“Growing up, you hear about Miami, you see teams playing them all over and throwing the ‘U’ down,” Walker said. “I saw the orange in front of my face, might as well. They were a little chippy, too, so.”
He finished with six catches for 132 yards. And a North Carolina offense that has scored 30 or more points in the first six games of the season for the first time since 1913 looks even more potent with Walker.
“We were 4-0 without him,” Brown said. “Obviously we have a chance to be much better with him. Now that people have seen him, it’s going to change the way people play defense against us. His presence is a game-changer.”
If North Carolina goes on to play for an ACC title, maybe even all the way to the College Football Playoff, because that road lies open ahead now, it might have Walker’s delayed impact to thank for it.
Miami was vanquished in the Tar Heels’ biggest game to date, the remaining schedule is favorable and there’s every reason to believe UNC can go into the pivotal final three weeks of the season — vs. Duke, at Clemson, at N.C. State — an unblemished 9-0, especially with Maye and Walker doing their best Sam Howell-Josh Downs impression.
“I should have found a way to target him some more,” Maye said, “the way he was making plays.”
On a night when the Tar Heels were never able to adequately handle Miami’s pass rush and Maye spent most of the night running for his life — by his standards, he was a pedestrian 17-for-33, albeit for 273 yards and four touchdowns — Walker was the playmaking outlet Maye desperately needed. He even made the leaping grab of Miami’s last-gasp attempt at an onside kick.
The shame of it is that Walker should have had a chance to do this from the start, starting with the opener in his hometown against South Carolina in Charlotte. He was the victim of the NCAA’s selective persecution, denied a waiver after transferring twice when other players in similar situations were granted relief, even under the more stringent standards adopted after Walker was already in Chapel Hill.
His anguish over that limbo was obvious, and concerns over his mental health were a big part of North Carolina’s argument on his behalf. Walker needed North Carolina. But North Carolina clearly needed him, too, especially with Kobe Paysour now out indefinitely.
“Thank goodness that Tez was eligible,” Brown said.
It’s never too late to do the right thing, even for the NCAA, and as it turned out, justice was done just in time for North Carolina.
It was all worth it, all along.
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This story was originally published October 14, 2023 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Tez Walker needed UNC’s support. When the Tar Heels needed Walker, he delivered."
