Turner says no one is feeling sorry for Clemson, Tigers have to battle

Turner doesn't have many of these Hill runs to go and he wants the Tigers to finish well.

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Thu Oct 28 13:04:06 GMT-04:00 2021

After six straight ACC Championships and six consecutive trips to the College Football Playoffs, Clemson graduate senior Nolan Turner doesn’t think anyone is feeling sorry for Clemson and the injuries the team has suffered this season.

The USA Today second-team All-American recorded 12 tackles and a forced fumble in the Tigers’ 27-17 loss at Pitt last weekend. After missing the first two games of the season due to a hamstring injury suffered in fall camp, Turner has registered 28 tackles and an interception as well as the forced fumble since his return.

“Anytime someone has a season-ending unjury, it's tough,” said Turner. “We have plenty of guys though, and no one is feeling sorry for Clemson with injuries. We have plenty of guys to play and as a team we keep battling.”

After an unusual 4-3 start and 3-2 record in ACC play, Clemson turns its eyes to the remaining month left of the season. Turner wants to see his guys on defense finish the year strong and build momentum for next season.

“I want to see us just finish well,” Turner said. “Obviously this has been a rough season, but it’s been an incredible journey and I’ve been blessed to be a part of it. It’s been one of the greatest runs in college football history and I just want to go out well. As a competitor, you just want to play the next game and play well. Each week my mindset hasn’t changed. Whether we’re 7-0 or 4-3, we’re preparing the same and practicing the same. The only thing that has changed is our record.”

“I think we want to finish well as a group of seniors,” said Turner. “That’s all we can control right now and obviously we’ve earned where we are. Ultimately for us, we want to be known how we finish the season. We don’t want to have any quit in this group and finish the season the right way.

“You work all year for 12 days. We’ve been working for this season since January and you get 12 days to play, and we have five left. You want to play for the guy beside you and we put in a lot of work for these opportunities we get on Saturdays. You don’t want to let any of them go to waste and take full advantage of all the opportunities that you get.”

Clemson welcomes the Florida State Seminoles to Memorial Stadium this weekend. After starting the season 0-4, Florida State and head coach Mike Norvell have found some life in the offense and now sit with a 3-4 record. Turner knows the defense has to step up and make plays against the Seminoles offense if they want to keep the home winning streak alive (31 games).

“They’re 3-0 in their last three games for a reason,” said Turner. “They’re moving the ball very well and really explosive. They have talented running backs and quarterbacks. They’re probably as explosive as anybody with the ball in their hand. They’re very precise and have been putting it all together in the last few games. They’re really starting to execute well over the last few games.”