South Carolina Football: UNC’s top playmaker ruled ineligible for Battle of the Carolinas
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football will match up with the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Battle of the Carolinas to kick off the college football season. The College GameDay-attended event will take place on September 2nd at 7:30 in Charlotte.
The game could go a long way in determining the direction of each program in 2023 as the two teams are considered some of the highest-variance squads of the fall. Difficult schedules and unanswered questions have both teams’ projections ranging anywhere from “struggling to get bowl eligible” to “competing for 10 wins.”
Some news dropped on Tuesday that could be a major factor in how the border rivalry goes: North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker had his transfer waiver for immediately eligibility denied by the NCAA, making him ineligible for games. North Carolina will appeal the decision, but Walker will be ineligible in the meantime.
Walker signed with North Carolina Central out of high school but transferred to Kent State before playing a game when the MEAC canceled NCCU’s season in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Walker played two seasons for Kent State before hitting the transfer portal and signing with UNC.
Walker, who scored a touchdown in North Carolina’s spring game, was expected to be one the top weapon for quarterback Drake Maye and the new-look UNC offense under offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.
Walker was nominated to the preseason watch list for the Fred Biletnikoff Award (the trophy given to the nation’s top pass catcher each season) earlier this week.
It is worth noting that Walker’s appeal could be heard and ruled upon by the NCAA in time for South Carolina football’s game against the Tar Heels. However, in an eerily similar circumstance with Gamecock receiver Jalen Brooks waiting on his appeal to be heard in 2020, Brooks was not granted his eligibility until almost halfway through the season.