The Clemson Insider has the latest on a New Year’s Eve offer that was handed out to the brother of a longtime Clemson Tiger on Friday.
Vestavia Hills (Ala.) High School wide receiver Cole Turner has received an offer from the Tigers, according to Vestavia Hills head coach Sean Calhoun.
Cole, of course, is the younger brother of Clemson safety Nolan Turner.
Cole has been on Clemson receivers coach Tyler Grisham’s radar, and while the Tigers signed two receivers to their 2022 recruiting class on Dec. 15 — Myrtle Beach (S.C.) four-star Adam Randall and Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) four-star Antonio Williams — the Tigers have still remained interested in Cole.
The Clemson Insider spoke with Calhoun on Friday following Cole’s offer from Clemson.
Off the field, Cole is a pretty low-key guy. But this morning, Calhoun could hear the excitement over the phone after Cole had let him know that he had been offered a scholarship by Clemson.
Soon then after came the phone call from Grisham.
“He told me that he spoke to Cole and offered him a scholarship,” Calhoun said. “They’re really excited about him as a receiver. Think he has a huge ceiling, his frame, his speed. Clemson’s done a really good job in finding certain positions of kids who are a little under-the-radar. Kids, who should’ve been more heavily recruited but were not. I definitely think Cole’s one of them. He definitely talked about that.”
“They’re super pumped,” he added. “We’re super excited. It’s great.”
Calhoun said that he made sure to tell Grisham that while Cole is a real good football player, he knows how Clemson likes to build its program.
“Most importantly, Cole is a great person,” Calhoun said, “and he’s a really good kid. He’s gonna be a positive influence and a positive role model for the University. He’s gonna be great in the locker room, in the weight room, on the field. You’re getting all-around. You’re not getting a football player that’s maybe a turd and is gonna cause you some off-the-field issues. Cole kind of gives you the all-around package in my opinion.”
Calhoun also warned Grisham in their conversation this morning about what Cole can do with his legs.
“I’m telling ya now, you’re gonna be shocked about how good he can run,” Calhoun recalled. “He’s got them little, skinny white legs rolling and he can run. We don’t have many here, who can just take the top off, but he can really run.”
Calhoun talked with Cole and his mom and emphasized that he needed to remain patient throughout the process. According to Calhoun, in the recruiting realm, if Cole’s senior film was his sophomore film or junior year film, he’d likely have 25-plus offers.
“A lot of people don’t understand how recruiting works and he’s one of those only-senior film guys and his senior film is exceptional,” Calhoun said. “And he’s doing it against exceptional opponents. When you have a senior-only guy, a lot of schools — let’s just talk Power 5 — a lot of them are already full. So, it was a tedious process of finding people who weren’t full or finding people who lost a kid or two in the portal or the draft. To go through all that and get this call today and talk to them, I can’t be even more thrilled for Cole.”
“You have a kid who has seen his brother go under-the-radar tremendously,” he added. “His brother, Nolan, was a heck of a high school football player. To think that he didn’t have any offers a week before signing day blows me away. Cole had seen it, but then it’s totally different when you have to go through it.”
An official visit to Clemson has not been scheduled yet, but Calhoun imagines that will likely be in the cards. Though, he can confirm that Grisham, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and possibly some other assistant coaches are probably gonna come down to Vestavia Hills and watch Cole play basketball at some point.
Right now, the plan is for Cole to commit on signing day. Whether he will be signing with Clemson remains to be seen, but this was the offer he was waiting on.
I am so happy and excited for @1rebelfootball EL1TE WR @coleturnertwo on his offer from @ClemsonFB today !!! #GoTigers #GUS #1Rebel @Mansell247 @SWiltfong247 @ChadSimmons_ @PaulStrelowTI @Sam_Neumann_ @MattOnClemson @ZachLentzSI @Clemson247 @AnnaH247 @gmraynor @JP_PriesterSI pic.twitter.com/vI1YZ3cW72
— Sean Calhoun (@CoachHoon) December 31, 2021
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