Turner participates in South Atlantic Conference Digital Media Day
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. ? Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Turner took time from his preparations for C-N's upcoming fall camp to answer questions in the South Atlantic Conference's Digital Media Day.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Turner took time from his preparations for C-N's upcoming fall camp to answer questions in the South Atlantic Conference's Digital Media Day.
You can watch a replay of a Facebook Live video of the proceedings and read his answers to questions below.
Comment From SACFan 21
Coach Turner, did you event the veer? It sure does seem like it.
Coach Mike Turner
We just took the wishbone and transitioned it to a split back offense. I sadly did not invent it. We ran the wishbone when I was here as a player. We just took the fullback out of the offense, and run with it that way. It's still similar. If you had to put it on a t-shirt, it'd be "Reps 'R Us."
Comment From Ken A.
Who are your top offensive threats this season?
Coach Mike Turner
At running back, Antonio Wimbush stands out. He's proven he can be a threat anytime he gets his hands on the football in many different ways. One of our quarterbacks, Derrick Evans is a weapon who can affect the game in many different ways. At receiver, Lonnie Williams, Darvia DuBose and Dorren Miller provide us with a lot of options. We have a lot of playmakers who can do something with the ball in their hands.
Comment From SACFan 21
Who do you think is going to the biggest breakout players on the offense and defense?
Coach Mike Turner
Defense and in our secondary, we're expecting some big things out of guys who were backups who will get some opportunities. We have depth at linebacker that we haven't had before. Up front, Montel Presley and Brian Bembry are both healthy. At end, we feel like we're two deep at all those positions and should be able to play kids fewer snaps in that regard.
Comment From SACFan 21
What's it like coming into this as the head coach? That has got to be exciting.
Coach Mike Turner
In a lot of ways, the job hasn't changed. The biggest difference, responsibility wise, is that there's a lot more paperwork than when I was the offensive coordinator. It's been fun to plan. That's probably another area where there's been a change. I'm not a CEO, I'm a football coach. I've got a great coaching staff, so they've made it easy to turn things loose and go coach. I've learned to turn it over and allow them to do things. The other thing, when I first stood in front of the whole football team. It was as the head coach and not as the OC. I knew I was making decisions that would affect their whole lives. And that's a responsibility I value and take seriously.
Comment From SAC FB Rules
What changes will be made to hopefully improve the defense in 2017?
Coach Mike Turner
The biggest things that we're doing - we've brought in more personnel that will increase our depth at all positions. We will be able to rotate and keep our players fresh. We want to be able to go fast all the time. We feel like the front four we've got starters and backups that are fairly equal. Same thing at linebacker. We just need depth in the defensive backfield. The starters are there, but we need to bring their backups along. The biggest thing is that we have guys that we feel confident putting in the game at any time.
Comment From SAC FB Rules
Which non-conference game do you think will be your biggest challenge?
Coach Mike Turner
As young as a football team we are, we better only worry about one game at a time. Pikeville will be excited to come to Jeff City and play Carson-Newman. Saint Aug returns 20 starters and will be improved. North Greenville has been fantastic the past few years. That's been a competitive game. We finish with Pembroke, we're on even keel when you face up with them. So not one stands out. We just had better be ready to play.
Comment From SACFan 21
I saw the video on the redesigned helmet and i think it looks great. Should match those Foggy Gray's pretty well!!
Coach Mike Turner
The stripe returns. We're going to do some things a little bit different. I don't ever want us to get away from the traditions that built this program. I loved the stripes on the helmet. We're going to give those kids something a little different. And it will look great with the greys. Thanks for having me!
