Shemar Turner returns with a purpose
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DALLAS -- Shemar Turner could have gone pro after a 2023 season that saw him named second team All-SEC at defensive end. But he had some unfinished business.
"I decided to come back one, I needed to get my Aggie ring and my degree and two, to come back and fix up some stuff on and off the field to make myself better for the NFL when I get there," he said at SEC Media Days.
When asked what he meant by "off the field stuff", Turner said he saw 2024 as an opportunity for self-improvement.
"Really, off the field’s about accountability. Holding myself accountable for my actions in everything I do, doing what I need to do, like all the time, 100%," he said. "(Coach Mike) Elko coming has helped us with accountability. Making us accountable, the whole team accountable."
Even though Turner was one of Jimbo Fisher's favorite players, the senior indicated that the circus atmosphere that surrounded Aggie football the past two seasons had become tiresome.
"It's a lot of unnecessary talking when you can be working," he said.
The return of Elko, who Turner called a "magician", helped put an end to the outside noise.
"He came in and tightened up all the corners that were loose; he tightened all the screws," Turner said. "The work ethic, it's changed in everyone. It's not just a handful of people on both sides of the ball that really, really want to win and really, really want to be great at the sport of football. I feel like everybody's mentality is switching over now because Elko harps being hardworking and he harps relationships and stuff like that with your teammates so much. I feel like it's made everybody work harder for each other and not only for themselves. You're not there for yourself no more."
Turner said that his fellow defensive linemen -- Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton, DJ Hicks, Cashius Howell and Albert Regis, among others -- have shown a desire for greatness in the months leading up to this season.
"Everybody out there with me, it’s crazy. I really do feel like we’re going to have one of the best D-lines in the country," he said. "They’re not only 5-star talents, but they really love football and they’re always working."
Turner racked up 33 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks last season at defensive end, but he'll be taking on a new task in 2024. He's moving inside to defensive tackle, the role Elko originally envisioned him playing when he recruited Turner as part of the class of 2021. Turner added 30 pounds in the offseason to get to 300, in no small part due to workouts with strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt and his "Chipotle diet".
"It’s always been a thing, with my body type, how big I am, being able to hold that much weight and still move. I love the move," Turner said of moving to defensive tackle. "I played it at 270, I can play it at 290, 300."
After two straight seasons of more melodrama than success, Turner believes Elko's approach help put more wins on the board.
"Everything is really flowing now. Everyone’s comfortable. Everything has slowed down for us," he said.