Miami Hurricanes respect Tez Walker, tough UNC receivers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The No. 25 Miami Hurricanes’ secondary knows they have a tough task on Saturday night. They have to find a way to stop highly touted wide receiver Tez Walker.

What makes things difficult is they only have one week of film to watch to prepare. Walker returned to the No. 12 Tar Heels’ lineup last week after a protracted dispute with the NCAA over his transfer eligibility.

“Well first of all, good for him,” Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said. “You never want a guy that has eligibility left not to be able to play. We’re supposed to be in this profession for the kids, and I think they did the right thing.

“Talented guy, big guy, can run. You just kind of really don’t worry about him individually because they’ve got other receivers. If it was just him, it’d be different. You could prepare to double cover him, but they’ve got other guys that can hurt you. So you really got to break down the offense and try to stop things they do well and on third down, maybe you can lean on him a little bit. But they’ve got other players. You can’t focus on just him.”

Integrating a player who has missed so much time (despite being healthy) can be a tough task. Walker had six catches for 43 yards in his season debut against Syracuse. But Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said if Walker has been practicing while waiting for the NCAA to reinstate him, it likely won’t take long for Walker to get to game speed.

“I don’t know what their process is, but if they thought the guy was going to be eligible at any point in the season, he’s probably been taking reps,” Dawson said. “I don’t know how he did last week because I don’t look at that side of the ball, but I’m sure the kid has been taking reps if they had any kind of percentage of him maybe being available.”

The Tar Heels have several talented receivers in addition to Walker, and they have earned respect from Miami’s defensive backs.

“(UNC receivers have) speed, explosiveness,” cornerback Te’Cory Couch said. “They’re good in space, deep threats. They’ve got all-around guys that can do everything. They can block. Whatever you need them to do, they can get it done.”

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