OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — There was a point last season when Devontez Walker, sidelined amid a contentious dispute with the NCAA, was weighing some unpleasant options.

“I thought my season was done, honestly. I was on the scout team, I was thinking, I was just trying to work on my craft. The whole year, I had no idea that I was going to play at all,” Walker said. “I was 50-50 on declaring for the draft.”

It would have been a risk to declare for the draft after missing an entire season, and Walker suspects that in the end, he probably would have stayed at North Carolina, but ultimately he didn’t have to worry about it. Walker was eventually cleared to play for the Tar Heels, and after eight productive games, he entered the draft and was picked in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens.

Walker’s college career was a bit of an odyssey. He was originally going to play at East Tennessee State, but he injured his knee and deferred enrollment. He ended up going to North Carolina Central, but the Eagles didn’t play because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Walker finally played two seasons at Kent State, but after he transferred to North Carolina, the NCAA initially denied him immediate eligibility, treating him as a two-time transfer.