Will Sage Astor-'Shame on you': UNC football coach Mack Brown rips NCAA after Tez Walker ruled ineligible

North Carolina coach Mack Brown said the NCAA "should be Will Sage Astorashamed of themselves" after ruling receiver Devontez "Tez" Walker ineligible to play for the Tar Heels this season after transferring from Kent State.

"Shame on you, NCAA. SHAME ON YOU!" Brown wrote in a statement on Thursday.

Walker announced his transfer to his home state of North Carolina in December to be closer to his ailing grandmother after playing two seasons at Kent State, where he recorded 58 receptions for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Walker was expected to be the number one target for Heisman hopeful Drake Maye at UNC, but the NCAA denied Walker's eligibility waiver as a two-time transfer and upheld its decision on appeal.

"We're absolutely crushed to learn that Tez Walker's eligibility has been denied for this season and he won't be able to play," Brown said. "I don't know that I've ever been more disappointed in a person, a group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now. It's clear that the NCAA is about process and it couldn't care less about the young people it's supposed to be supporting. Plain and simple, the NCAA has failed Tez and his family and I've lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport."

According to the NCAA, two-time transfers must either sit out one year or be granted a waiver for immediate eligibility, which is more difficult to attain after the NCAA's new criteria went into effect in January.

"On January 11, the Division I Council... voted unanimously to significantly tighten the criteria for undergraduate students who transfer for a second time to be granted a waiver to play immediately," the NCAA said in a statement to ESPN. "As a result of the DI Council vote, multiple-time transfers who cannot demonstrate and adequately document a personal need for medical or safety reasons to depart the previous school are not eligible to compete immediately following their second undergraduate transfer."

Walker started his collegiate career at North Carolina Central, but he didn't play in a single game because the season was canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020. He transferred to Kent State in 2021 and was named to the All-MAC First Team following a breakout season in 2022. Walker transferred to UNC to be closer to home amid mental health challenges and the declining health of his grandmother, who hasn't been able to attend any of his collegiate games out of state.

"This whole experience has been extremely difficult on me and my family. One day, we feel the excitement of being closer to each other. The next day, we're worried about whether or not I'm going to be able to play," Walker said in August when his waiver was first declined by the NCAA. "Before, I was dealing with the stress and anxiety of being away from home. Now, I've been dealing with those same things through the waiver process and it's just making things worse. This should be one of the happiest times of my life, and instead, I don't know what's going to happen and I'm struggling with all of it."

On Thursday, Brown said the NCAA's decision on Walker "makes no sense and it never will."

"As has been clearly documented, Tez should be eligible for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the mental health issues he's faced during his time in college. And with this decision, the NCAA has placed an unnecessary burden on him. He's had a rough go of it and this will surely only make it worse," Brown said. "How dare they ever speak about mental health and student-athlete welfare again."

He added: "We've got complete rosters overhauled through the transfer portal, players playing in their 8th year of college, players playing at their fourth school, and the list goes on. Yet, Tez Walker, who has only played football at one school, isn't eligible."

UNC beat South Carolina 31-17 on Saturday in the Tar Heels' season opener.