Player: Nolan Turner

School: Clemson

Height and Weight: 6’1”, 202

Pro Day Results(Was not at Combine):

• 40: 4.46
• Bench: 17
• Vertical Jump: 37.5”
• Broad Jump: 10’2”
• 3 Cone: 7.0
• 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.41
• Other Notes: Turner was not invited to the combine or at the very least, did not attend. These numbers are from the Clemson pro day. Turner looked really good and was definitely a riser thanks to his pro day. He needed to have a strong day due to not playing in any of the prospect games or being at the combine. He had one chance and didn’t disappoint.

Strengths:  Versatility, leadership, super high IQ player, instincts

Weaknesses: Inconsistent tackling, man/press coverage

Projected Draft Day: Late Day 1/Early Day 2

Player Comparison: Jessie Bates

Player Summary: Nolan Turner is a prospect in this draft that is not being talked about enough and clearly has sleeper written all over him. I’m a fan of Turner, I feel like I’ve been watching him play forever at Clemson. Turner was a “super senior” this year at Clemson, and continued to show out as one of the better safeties in college football. Turner is not the biggest, fastest, or strongest guy you’ll ever watch play, but in my opinion his football IQ is off the charts. Turner’s positives go way beyond the field of play. Turner is a leader. Turner was not just the clear leader of the secondary, he was one of the leaders of the Clemson defense. A defense that has been highly regarded as one of the best in college football over the last several years.

Turner’s positives as I just spoke of start as a person; he is a great leader and has shown to be such during his time at Clemson. He is the guy calling the shots in the back end of Clemson’s defense and helps get everything right. Turner is also super versatile. I felt like Turner was more of  a deep safety, but as I watched his tape I realized Clemson used him all over the place more than I realized. He was used as a safety, rolled down hybrid backer, nickel back/slot, and he’d even align somewhere between the backers and safeties, in terms of depth from the line of scrimmage. Clemson ran a unique defense to say the least that featured 3 safeties a lot of the time, and it seemed like part of it was so that they could utilize his versatility rather than limit his range of play. Turner is a playmaker; his stats may not pop off the page or impress but he is a playmaker. He plays the run, the pass, he blitzes, he is an overall impact player. He has great instincts and a nose for the ball. His stats are not padded to say the least. When he’s in a position to make a play he usually does, but for the most part he’s not worried about jumping on the pile for an extra stat. He’s always near the ball, but trusts his guys to make their play. In the case that they don’t Turner is ready to pounce. He’s always thinking ahead. What is going to make Turner so good in the league is his mentality and his IQ. Every move for Turner seems calculated, he moves so fluently and just always seems to be at the right place. People talk about Kyle Hamilton having the highest IQ of safeties in this year’s class and although I agree, I really don’t think Turner is all that far off. Turner has a lot of experience playing for a championship caliber team and he shows why he was a centerpiece for them for so long.

In terms of the negatives, there were two things that popped out in particular. The first was his tackling. I think for the most part Turner is a very solid tackler; however, there are times where he can forget to break down and will over pursue and kind of take himself out of position to make a play. He can also tend to tackle a bit high at times; however, these issues are obviously something that can be fixed heading into the league. The other negative I noticed was man coverage. It seems like for the most part Turner liked to play off, which is fine, but he definitely has the safety mentality where he wants to keep everything in front of him. I understand that style of play, but my issue here is that Turner does not seem to get hands on his man. He does not press and even a couple yards down the field does not typically get hands on. When he does make contact of some kind he definitely flashes strong coverage skills. On the other hand, when he doesn’t he tends to get a step behind on routes and can give up completions. Press and man coverage technique can be coached and worked on, but he definitely seems to be stronger in zone than man.