Clemson freshman receiver compared to NFL greats

On3 imageby:Matt Connolly03/29/23

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Clemson receivers coach Tyler Grisham was asked earlier this week who he would compare Tigers redshirt freshman receiver Cole Turner to.

There’s not a player who immediately came to mind for Grisham, but he did share what another staff member has said.

“Tajh [Boyd] says Nuk,” Grisham said, referring to All-Pro NFL receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who starred at Clemson in college.

Yes, that comparison might seem a bit extreme, which is likely why Grisham hesitated to use it.

With that said, Boyd is qualified to know. Boyd, who is currently in an offensive player development role for the Tigers, threw passes to Hopkins for three seasons at Clemson, prior to Hopkins beginning his NFL career.

Current Clemson running backs coach CJ Spiller, who spent eight seasons in the NFL, compared Cole Turner to another former Pro Bowl receiver.

“He reminds you of Ed McCaffrey from the Denver Broncos – faster,” Spiller said. “That’s who he is. If he puts his head down, he can be very special. But I can see Ed McCaffrey when you think about it, just very similar body types.”

That is obviously incredibly high praise for a former three-star recruit who had no other Power 5 offers coming out of high school.

While it may be premature to compare Turner to NFL all pros, he did far and away exceed expectations during his first year at Clemson.

Turner redshirted in 2022 and only appeared in three games, but in one of those three — in the ACC championship game against North Carolina — Turner caught three passes for 101 yards, becoming the only Clemson player last season to produce a 100-yard receiving game.

“It was good to get Cole Turner back in there. We talked to him all year about, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to need you to win a championship.’ Didn’t know it was going to quite be like that, but it was really awesome,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after last year’s ACC title game. “He’s going to be a great player, and he really doesn’t even know he’s good.”

Expectations are clearly higher for Turner entering the 2023 season than they were a year ago.

With several wideouts banged up, Turner has been getting the majority of the first-team reps this spring.

He’s taken advantage of them and will compete for a starting job during fall camp in August.

“He’s gotten those first-team reps. He’d probably be rotating in with Beaux [Collins] and Adam [Randall] and those guys, but he’s getting first-team reps – every one of them almost – and he’s done really well,” Grisham said. “He looks like a stronger player. Still room to grow. That’s an area I’ve really challenged him in.”

Whether it’s this year or down the road, it’s clear that Turner has a bright future.

“He’s playing stronger, he’s playing faster and more confident and having fun,” Grisham said.