Secondary Depth Will Help Ease Loss of Nolan Turner in First Half Against Ohio State
One of the least talked about storylines heading into the Tigers Sugar Bowl matchup with Ohio State is the fact that Clemson will be without starting safety Nolan Turner for the first half.
Tuner was ejected due to a targeting call in the second half of the 34-10 win over Notre Dame in the ACC Championship, meaning he must also sit out the first half on New Year's Day.
The fifth-year senior, who had interception that sealed the Tigers 29-23 win over the Buckeyes last season, has developed into one of the more dependable players on the backend of the Clemson defense.
Turner was recently named a second-team All-American, as well as earning second-team All-ACC honors, and losing a player of his caliber is never ideal. However, Turner is taking it in stride and is trying his best to make the most out of the unfortunate circumstances.
"It's frustrating, I obviously really want to play in this game, and I'll get to in the second half," Turner said. "But you know, it's uncontrollable for me and I can't control that and just have to go into it coaching guys up and being supportive on the sideline and bringing in energy that we need from guys on the sidelines. Looking forward to playing in that second half but in the first half I got to be a coach and help out and encourage guys."
Fortunately for the Tigers, the secondary is as deep as it's ever been in the Dabo Swinney era, and it's not just depth, it's quality depth. The coaching staff has been able to get a lot of the younger guys valuable experience this season and Turner says for that reason, he is fully confident in the teams ability to get by without him on the field in the first half.
"We got a lot of guys now. I think Lannden (Zanders) and Joe (Charleston) you know, all year played a lot of football and have done a great job," Turner said. "Two really athletic, young guys that played a lot of football now and they're not really young anymore, so for sure them two. I think Ray Thornton, Tyler Venables, R.J. Mickens, are all guys who had great weeks of preparation and practice. So I'm super confident in whoever we play this week. We have a great group of committed guys in the backend and super confident that they can get the job done."
