Maye, Tar Heels win, but it's 'a shame' Walker couldn't play - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina's offense had little trouble adjusting to life without its top two wide receivers, as Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-17 victory over South Carolina.

But that didn't keep Maye from expressing frustration about the NCAA's ruling that prevented transfer Tez Walker from playing Saturday.

Maye wore Walker's jersey — spun backwards to show Walker's name plate — when addressing media after the game, and he said the NCAA was punishing a player from achieving a lifetime dream, all in the name of making a statement.

«He lives five or 10 minutes from here, grew up in Charlotte,» said Maye, who shared an emotional moment with Walker coming off the field after the win. «We love Tez. He's an awesome dude, and it's a shame what's happened.»

Walker, a two-time transfer who arrived at North Carolina in January, was denied a waiver by the NCAA this summer, and his appeal was denied last Thursday — just two days before the game.

North Carolina was also without starting slot receiver Nate McCollum, leaving Maye with a receiving corps he hadn't worked extensively with throughout fall camp and the past week of practice.

The decision on Walker's eligibility follows a new rule passed in January to limit multiple transfers by the same player prior to graduation. In Walker's case, however, his first transfer from North Carolina Central came in 2020 after that school canceled its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his second transfer from Kent State to UNC occurred before the new rule was passed.

A second committee of representatives from Division I schools will meet again Thursday to make a final decision on Walker's availability in 2023, and Maye said he