Mike Elko: Message to Shemar Turner on penalties is 'clearly not working'

Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner has consistently been flagged for penalties this season, with several of those being of the 15-yard variety.

The senior had a costly roughing the passer call this past Saturday against South Carolina during what turned out to be a 44-20 loss.

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko was asked about all of the penalties that have been called on Shemar Turner during his press conference this week and in particular what his message has been to Turner.

“Yea, I mean the conversation’s not going well enough, because it’s not getting fixed,” Elko said. “And so the conversation is you can’t have post-snap 15-yard penalties. They’re killers. They’re selfish. You can’t do it.”

Elko has been preaching that message to Shemar Turner all season, but he admits that it’s not working and it’s time to change it up.

“I’ve got to find a different way to get that message across because it’s clearly not working,” he said.

Shemar Turner has started all nine games for the Aggies this season and has recorded 26 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.

Mike Elko after loss to South Carolina: ‘We’ve got to not ever play like that again’

From too many penalties, to missed tackles and missed opportunities, Texas A&M had a rough game against South Carolina.

Elko explained after the game that he felt South Carolina did things right in the game that they weren’t able to do, emphasizing the need to be better moving forward.

“Hats off to South Carolina,” Mike Elko said. “They beat us. Beat us on the line of scrimmage, both sides of the ball. Controlled the game. Forced turnovers. Couldn’t run the ball. Couldn’t tackle. Couldn’t control the quarterback. So, we didn’t do any of the things you need to do to win a football game. That’s why we lost. So, we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to fix them and we’ve got to not ever play like that again.”