Clemson WR Cole Turner out for season with hip injury

Clemson suffered an unfortunate injury in a win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, with starting receiver Cole Turner banged up during the game.

It turns out Turner will miss the rest of the season with three torn adductor muscles in his hip, coach Dabo Swinney revealed on a Sunday conference call, according to The State reporter Chapel Fowler.

“This kid is gonna be a superstar,” Swinney said. “Really hate that for him. Part of his story.”

So far during the 2023 season Turner had logged three catches for 28 yards. That came one year after he recorded eight catches for 161 yards.

Prior to his arrival at Clemson, Turner was not a superstar recruit. He was ranked as a three-star prospect, the No. 1,281 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class.

He checked in as the No. 184 receiver in the class and the No. 52 overall player in the state of Alabama, hailing from Birmingham (Ala.) Vestavia Hills.

Pressure mounts on Cade Klubnik

Now down one of his top targets with Cole Turner out for the year, quarterback Cade Klubnik will have to be even better. The good news is the Clemson quarterback has been showing significant improvement from week to week.

“I just think it’s just a progression of him gaining experience,” Swinney said. “The first couple of games, especially the first game, he’s learning that internal clock that comes from experience and he’s learning how long I need to sit in the pocket and when to go manage the game. Because he can really, really run. He’s a problem.

“But I thought this was his best game from that standpoint. He did a poor job the first game. There were several times in that first game that instead of third-and-10, it could have been a first down or third-and-3. Then he got a little better last week, especially after the first quarter. And then tonight was outstanding.”

Klubnik ran six times for 35 yards and a score against the Owls, doing enough to keep the defense off-balance as Clemson piled on the points.

Clemson won 48-14 and Swinney came away praising his quarterback.

“He made some really, really timely plays and good decisions with his legs,” Swinney said. “We ran the quarterback draw right there. That was a called play. Make good decisions in the run game and the RPO game. I think it was either the first or second drive, he pulled it down and ran for a nice gainer. Those are huge plays. Those are those are plays that really just frustrate a defense. Not everybody can do that, but he really can and so I think he took a step forward tonight, and hopefully he’ll continue to gain that experience.”