'It wasn't easy getting here': Tez Walker explains his journey to Tar Heels, close ties to his family

“It’s amazing,” Walker said. “I feel like anybody with a heart who sees my story, they'd understand. Like, it wasn't easy getting here.

“And, I kind of show it with my play and my emotions out there.”

Walker’s grandmother never thought his eligibility for the 2023 season would become a national story.

Walker’s grandma, Loretta Black, said she and the family were upset by the months-long standoff with the NCAA.

In December 2022, Walker committed to North Carolina. A month later, the NCAA Division I Council changed the conditions that allowed players to take the field after a transfer.

Walker's family and UNC coaches thought he should be allowed to play right away.

Despite evidence, the family says should have earned Walker a waiver, the NCAA considered him a two-time transfer.

“All the information that they [were] asking for, I sent him everything, my medical history and everything, doctor’s note and everything that I had on my condition and that he needed,” Black said.

“That hurt me because I didn’t understand why you asked for all this information and you couldn’t grant the waiver because we did what you asked,” Black continued. “All the information was true. There was nothing false. It was no lie. And then to get this done to him, it was very hurtful.”

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” said Walker’s mother, Ivey Cody. “Most definitely an amusement park for me.

“It’s been a journey.”

Black recalled hearing the news from Walker that he would be allowed to play.

“We were sitting here watching TV,” Black said. “Matter of fact, it was his mom’s birthday when he called, and so, he said, ‘I was trying to call mama. I called you … I’m playing Saturday.’ I’m like, ‘Huh?’”

Black said she asked Walker if he would be allowed to play for the rest of the 2023 season.

“He said, ‘Yes,’” Black said. “So, I just screamed, I hollered, I praised God and everything. It was some wonderful news.”

“She’s been there from day one,” Walker said of his grandmother.

Cody said she was yelling throughout the house.

In a statement, the NCAA revealed that staff members received new information in early October about Walker. In light of that information, Walker was deemed eligible for a transfer waiver.

“When that thing got turned around, oh yeah, [there was] a big difference,” Black said. “We [were] excited, we [were] overwhelmed, we [were] happy for him because he got the chance to live out his dreams.

The NCAA said the information had not been made available by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before the week of Oct. 2. As to what the specific information was, the association said, “We must be careful not to compromise a student athlete’s right to privacy when it comes to sensitive issues.”

WRAL Sports asked Black if she could disclose what the information was if she knew.

“I have no idea because we submitted all the information they asked for,” Black said. “I would like to know the new information myself.”

“That’s what I think it was. The attorney general was the new information, and his pressure that he put on them,” Cody said. “So, I believe that’s what that really is about.

“Of course, they have to say something to cover their side of it, but I would think that we all know that it was the pressure behind the attorney general and not him wanting to go any further as he expressed in that letter.”

Walker said he isn’t sure what caused the NCAA to change its decision.

“I [was] practicing on scout team every day thinking my season was over,” Walker said. “I was preparing for next year.

“I didn’t even know what was going to happen next year if I was going to come back or take my chances and go to the draft or try to get a late pick or sign [with a team].”

Walker said seeing so many people advocate on his behalf, “It made me think I made the right decision coming here.”

WRAL Sports asked Black how hard it was on Walker as the back and forth about his eligibility dragged on for months.

“You don’t know what a person is going through,” Black said. “They might tell you they’re alright but it’s not alright.”

Cody said Walker wouldn’t get into the NCAA’s decision when he would visit home.

“When he came home, he was just home,” Cody said. “He didn’t really talk about anything. He really didn’t go into depth about anything, but I knew it was bothering him.”

How a former governor and new information helped UNC's Tez Walker get on the field

Walker and his sister stayed with Black while he was attending West Charlotte High School.

“He’s been with me since he was born,” Black said.

Cody said she was young when she gave birth to Walker. She said she’s learned a lot of lessons in parenthood.

“He wasn’t a hard kid to raise,” Cody said.

Black said she had to undergo surgeries in 2000 and 2017.

“When I had my surgeries, I had two hip replacements, left and right, then [I had] left knee replacement, then I broke that knee and had to be in the cast, and I was in a wheelchair, and that’s when, during that time, he took care of me, [making] sure I took my [medications], and I taught him how to cook and everything,” Black said.

Walker would clean the home, cook and make sure Black took her medications. Walker said he was Black’s caregiver for four or five months.

“When I had my surgery – two hips, left and right, left knee, broke that knee, had a cast, I was in a wheelchair,” Black said. “During that time, he took care of me.”

Black expressed her appreciation for her grandson’s help.

“He made sure I was well kept before he was going to practice or before he’d go out, anything or play his game, do his personal things, yeah, he’d make sure I was straight,” Black said.

Joshua Harris, Walker’s coach at West Charlotte High School, said Walker was a phenomenal student.

“When I was talking to coaches about recruiting, I’m like, ‘He’s the type of person you can take to your grandma’s house and eat dinner. You don’t have to worry about him embarrassing you,’” Harris said.

Harris compared Walker’s demeanor to NBA star Kevin Durant.

“He just wants to play ball,” Harris said of Walker. “He’ll lead by example based on how he shows up and prepares every day, but he’s not a big rah-rah guy.

“He’s just going to let his play do the talking and everybody can see the hard work that he puts in from Monday through Saturday [or] Monday through Sunday.”

Black also said Walker had to overcome an ACL tear in the summer of 2019.

“That was a dark time,” Black said. “That was [really] dark because he thought he was never going to ever play football again, but he got the chance. He worked out. He worked hard to get himself back in shape and here we are.”

Black said she wasn’t able to watch Walker play his high school football or basketball games. She said she was nervous when colleges were recruiting Walker.

“I was happy wherever he landed. I still was happy and proud,” Black said. “Yes, I wanted him home with me – being selfish I guess – but wherever he went, I was very proud that he got the opportunity to explore his options.”

Cody said she knew her son was special when he started playing on the junior varsity team at West Charlotte.

“The coaches, they came up [and] started bragging about his potential,” Cody said. “I thought that was [really] good being that he was on the JV level, and they [were] already speaking highly.

“So that’s when I knew that, that this was something different.”

Tez Walker timeline: Key dates in UNC receiver's eligibility dispute with NCAA

Walker initially committed to East Carolina in June 2018. In November 2018, he decommitted from East Carolina. In February 2019, he signed with East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Fall 2019 was supposed to mark Walker’s freshman season.

Cody said she initially wanted her son to stay close to home for college.

“I was like, ‘Well, goodness Devontez, you’ve got to stay close,’” Cody recalled. “But then my older sister said, ‘Well, let him go out of state.’

“And then, that was then … I eased on back and let him take control of his journey.”

In the summer of 2019, Walker suffered a knee injury. ETSU allowed him to “grayshirt,” which means he wouldn’t join the program until spring practice in 2020.

Walker said he didn’t feel comfortable. He also worried about the school pulling his scholarship offer and forcing him to be a walk-on player.

“I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the same,” Walker said.

He left ETSU and signed in early 2020 with North Carolina Central University in Durham.

“That was the only opportunity that I had, so I’m going to go up here and make the best of it, which I did,” Walker said. “It was a good place, [a] good spot.”

In July 2020, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, home to NCCU, suspended the fall 2020 sports season due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Walker lost another season.

“That’s just part of the journey that I really didn’t have time to question, it was just like, take everything as it comes,” Cody said.

Walker practiced with North Carolina Central in the spring of 2021. He said football players were worried about the status of the 2021 season since the school discontinued its baseball program due to the financial impacts of COVID-19.

When Walker entered the transfer portal and committed to Kent State, he had yet to play in a college football game.

Walker said Kent State recruited him when he was in high school. Harris knew the coaching staff at Kent State.

“They knew about the ACL,” Walker said. “They [were] like, ‘We’ll bring him up for a tryout. If he looks good, we might offer a scholarship,’ but it wasn’t anything guaranteed.”

Walker said he had to get help to pay for a flight.

“[I] went up there, tried out,” Walker said. “They stopped me in the middle of the workout and said I earned a scholarship.”

Cody said Walker made his mom sit and watch a video where current Colorado football coach Deion Sanders explained the different levels of football. The video explained how football teams do their scouting and recruiting.

“That right there changed my whole perspective,” Cody said. “It made me more understanding why he wanted to go bigger platforms like Kent [State] or [North] Carolina or somewhere else.”

During the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Kent State in Ohio, Walker had 63 receptions for 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 games. Walker’s breakout performance at Kent State came on Sept. 24, 2022. He caught seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in Kent State’s 39-22 loss at Georgia, which ended the season as repeat national champions.

“It was great. I made it to one game, so that was really nice, but it was a nice experience,” Cody said of Walker’s two seasons at Kent State. “That’s when he really gained his exposure was at Kent State.”

Black still hadn’t had the chance to see Walker play a college football game in person.

“The plane tickets … it was costly,” Cody said.

In December 2022, days after Kent State head coach Sean Lewis left the school to become Colorado’s offensive coordinator, Walker again entered the transfer portal.

“Playing [for a] Power 5 [team] was always the goal. I wouldn’t say UNC specific,” Walker said. “Growing up in the state, always seeing the UNC logo, it’s a big deal.

“So, when I got that phone call, I knew. I had my mind made up where I wanted to go.”

Walker called the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill his dream school.

“I get a chance to see him play,” Black said of her thought process at the time.

Cody said she trusted Harris, her son’s high school coach, to help him make the decision to transfer to North Carolina.

“It was really easy for me, honestly,” Cody said. “I was just going with the flow.”

Harris said North Carolina made Walker and his family feel most comfortable. North Carolina didn’t make any guarantees to Walker about his waiver, Harris said.

“Going in, we kind of knew it could go either way,” Harris said.

In January, the NCAA Division I Council Transfer Advisory Group adopted new guidelines for undergraduate four-year college transfers.

On April 5, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill submitted a legislative relief waiver to NCAA on behalf of Walker. The NCAA committee staff denied Walker’s waiver request in May, June and July.

“I just learned all the plays, so I was trying to memorize them in mind, remember them,” Walker said. “So, keeping my emotions as calm as possible, I knew it was going to be crazy when I got out there, a day like that, which it was.”

The Syracuse game marked the first time Black saw Walker play football in his high school or college career.

“It was like, ‘Wow, am I here?’” Black said. “I said, ‘This is what this looks like.’

“Wow, it was energetic. The fans were so wonderful. After they found out who we were and everything, they were so kind and so gracious. And, we appreciate the fans and the staff for sticking with Devontez for helping him and everything.”

Cody said her favorite part was when her son ran onto the field at Kenan Memorial Stadium carrying a North Carolina flag.

“That was a beautiful sight,” Cody said. “It was heartfelt. It was heartwarming.”

Walker explained what it was like carrying the flag.

“It was amazing,” Walker said. “Being from the state and doing that in a big moment like that, it was [really] heartfelt.

“Growing up here, it’s everybody’s dream, any athlete in North Carolina wants to be here and do something like that.”

Black said it was the first time she had seen Walker play in person “since he was small trying to learn how to play football.” She also got to be on the field to celebrate with Walker after the game.

“[I] never stepped … on the field,” Black said. “That was a very exciting moment for me.”

Walker described what it was like to be on the field with his family after the game.

“It made me happy seeing what they see,” Brown said. “I was trying to fight so hard for her [Black].

“My journey was different, so them seeing what I went through to get to here and see what I have. [They get to] see what UNC is doing for me. It’s amazing. And they see how amazing it is. They thank Coach [Mack] Brown all the time for what he’s doing for me.”

Black said she struggled to walk from the parking deck to the stadium and needed to rest for a day or two afterward.

“It’s worth it,” Black said. “It’s worth the pain.”

“I got a lot of text messages from various people, and they [were] like, ‘Your guy is having his coming out party,’” Harris said. “And, my response was, ‘No, y’all just got to the party.’”

Harris said he and Walker’s family knew what he was capable of on the field.

Cody was in attendance for the Miami game, but Black couldn’t make it.

“I was like, ‘He’s here now,’” Cody said. “That’s it.”

Walker has been the Tar Heels’ leading receiver in four of the seven games he’s played in.

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Many players who are bound for the NFL forego playing in their college team’s bowl game to avoid getting injured.

Some draft experts expect Walker to get selected in the 2024 NFL Draft if he decides to leave school.

Walker said playing in the NFL has been a goal of his since he was 6 years old.

“That’s what I want to do for a living,” Walker said.

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is widely expected to be among the top selections of the 2024 draft.

“Drake, he’s on another level when it comes to [quarterbacks],” Walker said of Maye. “There [aren’t] too many like him.”

Walker said his goal for the 2023 season is to get 1,000 yards receiving despite not playing in North Carolina’s first four games. Walker has 39 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns. He also said he wants to earn a 3.0 GPA each semester.

Walker said he keeps his goal list on his phone and on a piece of paper hung up in his bathroom. He said he consistently updates his list.

“It’s something I can see every day,” Walker said.

Walker still goes to visit Black about twice a month. He still has close ties with his family.

“Just never give up on your dream,” Cody said. “Always believe.”

Walker said he wouldn’t change anything about his journey.

“I feel like everyone has a story, and I thank God for everything he’s put me through,” Walker said. “[I’m] still thanking him for what he’s going to still put me through.

“There’s going to be adversity throughout your whole life, so I’m just thankful for it all.”