North Carolina freshman cornerback Cam’Ron Kelly was ruled eligible to play this season by the NCAA, coach Mack Brown confirmed on Wednesday.
Kelly initially chose Auburn during the recruiting process but decided in April to transfer to North Carolina to be closer to home, citing family health problems. Kelly is from Chesapeake, Va.
The Tar Heels applied for a waiver so Kelly wouldn’t have to sit out the 2019 campaign due to transfer regulations.
Kelly announced the decision on his Twitter account.
“God is good. Just got great news. I’m playing this year,” Kelly tweeted. “Thanks to everyone that supported me including my family, coaches, teammates and especially our compliance department. Now it’s time to go to work.”
Brown responded to Kelly’s tweet a short time later.
“So excited for @CamRonJKelly. He handled this process so well and got the outcome he deserved. Great job by our compliance department. #BeTheOne,” Brown tweeted.
Kelly, a four-star recruit, is expected to be an immediate contributor as soon as Saturday’s season-opening game against South Carolina. Starting corner Patrice Rene will miss the first half of the game due to his involvement in a fight in last season’s game against North Carolina State.
