A former Clemson standout safety is stoked about the new reign of the Tigers’ defense.
Of course, now that he is Oklahoma’s head coach, Brent Venables won’t be easy to replace after successfully leading Clemson’s defense as its coordinator over the last decade.
But Nolan Turner looks forward to seeing what Clemson’s D looks like and how it does this season under new co-defensive coordinators Wes Goodwin and Mickey Conn.
“I’m excited. I’m real excited to watch them and how they structure this defense and ultimately how they perform next season,” Turner said recently on The Players Club Podcast, hosted by former Clemson running back Darien Rencher. “I’ve gotten up to spring ball a few times, gotten to see them coach and play in practice and stuff, and being with them throughout the whole bowl prep last year … Obviously him and Coach V are very different, different dudes, Wes and Coach V. Going to be different play-callers, going to be different coaches on the field, different personalities.”
Goodwin, who first arrived at Clemson in 2009, served as a graduate assistant from 2009-11 before joining the staff on a full-time basis in 2012 and overseeing the team’s secondary for its 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl win against LSU.
He served in a critical off-field role for Venables as a defensive analyst from 2012-14 and as senior defensive assistant from 2018-21, overseeing defensive breakdowns and opponent scouting, assisting with on-campus recruiting and also serving as one of the program’s primary liaisons to NFL scouting personnel and coaches.
“Those are two of the best guys and two of the smartest guys at what they do, and there’s a reason Coach V kept Wes so close all the time,” Turner said. “They were feeding off each other, ideas and schemes, and what’s going to work for this and what’s a good call for that, how do we stop this. Wes is the man. He’s a players’ coach.”
To that point, Turner believes Clemson’s defenders will enjoy playing for Goodwin, who is entering his first full season in an on-field role at Clemson but 11th season overall across two tenures with the Tigers.
“All the guys are going to love Wes, going to speak highly of Wes. He’s just who he is,” Turner said. “The fact that he’s become the D-coordinator at Clemson isn’t gonna change who he is, and that’s what I think is really cool about him. He’s still going to be the same old Wes. It’s just who he is. Funny humor, kind of quiet, but will get after you every once in a while. You start to see a different side of him on the football field a little bit than you would up in the meeting room. So, that’s what I like to see come out of him. In the bowl prep, seeing him get after some guys a little bit was fun.”
Turner is also happy that his former safeties coach Conn was promoted to co-defensive coordinator. The former longtime head coach at Grayson (Ga.) High School started his career at Clemson in 2016, when Turner was a true freshman, and then became the Tigers’ full-time assistant coach for safeties in January 2017.
“I’ve been around Coach Conn for six years now, that’s my guy,” Turner said. “Came into Clemson when I came into Clemson, so we kind of went through that ride together of learning, learning the defense, getting adjusted to college football and everything. So, I’ve spent a lot of good moments with Coach Conn and really enjoyed his mentorship and his coaching ability. He’s really important to me, him and his family, so I’ve always been really appreciative of them. … But just super excited for both of those guys.”
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