Clemson safety banged up
Clemson safety Nolan Turner was in a boot, as the 19th-ranked Tigers held their fifth practice Friday behind the Allen Reeves Football Complex in preparation for their Dec. 29 showdown against Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl.
The boot was on Turner’s left foot. All Clemson was told turner has been suffering through a toe injury all season. There is no official word from Clemson on his status for the bowl game.
Other injury notes on defense. Turner was not the only defensive player not working individual drills. Fellow safety Jake Venables was in a yellow jersey Friday, but there does not appear to be any noticeable injuries that could hold him out. Again, there is no official word on his status for the Cheez-It Bowl, as well.
Yellow jersey means a player is very limited in practice.
Clemson cornerback, Mario Goodrich, was in a green jersey, which means he cannot participate in any drills that involves contact.
Linebacker Baylon Spector, who had surgery on his hand Tuesday and has already been ruled out for the bowl game, was at practice on Friday, but he was on the sideline in street clothes talking to Turner.
Goodwin performing for the media. New defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin, he was the star of the practice from a media perspective. Goodwin was being watched, photographed and analyzed during the four practice periods the media was allowed to watch on Friday.
As he ran his practice, it appeared Goodwin was a little nervous with the media watching his every move. Goodwin is not as vocal as former defensive coordinator Brent Venables is, so when he tells his linebackers what he wants them to do on a drill, he gets right up to them, instead of yelling at them from far away, as Venables did at times.
A couple of times, Goodwin huddled his linebackers up to make sure they knew what he wanted them to do. As he gets more and more comfortable to being the guy in charge and being around the media, Goodwin will likely become a little more vocal. However, from a reference standpoint, Goodwin is generally a quiet person by nature.
Former Clemson linebacker Kavell Conner, who lettered for the Tigers from 2006-’09, was helping Goodwin with the linebackers as a voluntary coach. After his time at Clemson, Conner played seven seasons in the NFL for the Colts, Chargers and Ravens.
