Tez Walker recovering after hospitalization, North Carolina hosts Campbell after losing two straight
Posted October 30, 2023 12:27 p.m. EDT
Updated October 30, 2023 4:36 p.m. EDT
Chapel Hill, N.C. — North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker is on the road to recovery after getting hospitalized from a big hit in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 46-42 loss to Georgia Tech.
It’s unclear if Walker will play this upcoming Saturday against Campbell. North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said he would see Walker on Monday.
When players are injured, Brown said, “I want to make sure they’re ok, and normally, they’ll talk to me. I’m around them more than the doctors or trainers.”
Brown said he asked Walker immediately after the hit if he was ok.
“His eyes opened and he said, ‘yes,’” Brown said.
Brown said he knew Walker wasn’t paralyzed after doctors and trainers moved the receiver’s arms and legs.
“My deal then is to try to show our players and families watching that he’s ok without making a big to-do about it,” Brown said.
Brown said Walker was up all night at the Atlanta area hospital. He said the team had Walker go home and sleep on Sunday.
Brown said fellow wide receiver and roommate Gavin Blackwell brought Walker dinner on Sunday.
On Monday, Brown told reporters how he handles injured players goes back to when he coached North Carolina in the 1995 Carquest Bowl. Star receiver Octavus Barnes suffered a knee injury after being touted as one of college football’s most talented pro prospects.
“The TV reporter came over and interviewed him on the sideline and he was crying,” Brown said of Barnes. “He or the doctor [or] somebody said, ‘He’s through. He’s ruined his knee.’ And, it really upset his family because they weren’t there and they couldn’t take care of him.
“And, at that point, I said, ‘We will never ever talk about an injury again until we have all family members caught up to date on exactly what happened before we tell you guys.’”
The Tar Heels will try to regroup after losing two consecutive games.
Brown said, “I gotta fix things, be positive and move forward, and that’s my job.”
Brown said he learned from longtime Georgia head coach Vince Dooley that it’s a head coach’s job to turn negatives into positives.
“It was awful,” Brown said of North Carolina’s performance against Georgia Tech. “So, everybody is responsible.”
On Saturday, North Carolina hosts Campbell. The Tar Heels have two home games left, which are likely the last times quarterback Drake Maye will play in Chapel Hill. Maye is considered one of the top quarterback prospects and is expected to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I tell the players, ‘You never know how many games you’ve got left,’” Brown said. “If you get hurt, you may not have any games left.
“So, I tell them, ‘You better get ready to play every week and you better enjoy the moment every week.’ I’ve never done that well.”
Brown said the Tar Heels’ fourth-quarter performance against Georgia Tech was unacceptable. The Tar Heels allowed the Yellow Jackets to score 22 points in the fourth quarter. Also, Georgia Tech finished the game with 635 yards of offense.
“We have to finish games better,” Brown said.
On Sunday, North Carolina fell out of the AP Top 25. Brown said his team is two drives away from being a Top 5 team.
“We’ve got to fight to get back in the rankings,” Brown said.
