You know what they say about guys with big feet? They have big shoes to fill.
Such is the case following the departure of middle linebacker Bradie James to the National Football League last spring. And the man filling those shoes – Lionel Turner – has found the road rough going.
Just ask coach Nick Saban, who avoided questions about Turner’s performance against Florida in Monday’s press conference.
“You sure you want me to answer that today?” Saban said. “Let me ask you this: Would you want me to talk about you if you didn’t cover your guy on a 35-yard touchdown? Would you want me to speak about you that day or would you rather wait and I answer this question and we write this story another time when the guy has a good game?”
Saban even involved LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady, who was in attendance, in the discussion. Saban asked Brady whether a defender should look at his man or the basket when playing man-to-man defense.
“You better guard that guy,” Brady responded.
“He hasn’t had any more responsibility than anybody else out there,” Saban continued about Turner. “He has a job to do like everybody else does. And it was no huddle, so [the defense has] all got to know the signals. He didn’t even have to call the defenses out [on the field].”
In addition to the 35-yard touchdown pass referenced by Saban, Turner also was responsible for a questionable late hit penalty on quarterback Chris Leak in the third quarter. The penalty came on a 3rd-and-21 from the Florida 26-yard line and awarded the Gators an automatic first down, keeping the drive alive.
But despite Saban’s harsh critique of Turner’s performance against Florida, Turner recorded a season-high eight tackles against the Gators – seven of those came unassisted.
Turner also recorded eight tackles against the University of Louisiana-Monroe earlier this season. For the year, Turner leads the Tigers defensively with 34 total tackles, 24 of those unassisted.
Teammate Chad Lavalais said he is confident Turner is doing the best job he can this season.
“I think he’s doing a good job so far,” Lavalais said. “The biggest adjustment he had to make is moving from Will to Mike – calling the defense, making the audibles and stuff like that.
“Coaches throw a lot of stuff at you and the guys that really have to know the defense are the safeties and the Mike linebacker. I give those guys a lot of credit because they get a lot of stuff thrown at them every game.”
Turner said he does not look at this season as him filling Bradie James’ shoes. Rather, he said it is an opportunity for him to get out on the field and make a name for himself.
“So far, I think I’ve been doing a decent job,” Turner said. “Mike linebackers have to get everyone else lined up and get everybody going. You’re just like a quarterback on offense. I think I’ve been doing a decent job of getting it done.”
As for the things he needs to improve on: “[I need to] recognize the formation a little quicker and try to get everybody lined up a little quicker.”
Finally, Turner said the best way to move on from a poor performance is to focus on the game ahead of you – in this case, that means South Carolina on Saturday.
“I was disappointed in the way I played,” Turner said. “I could have played a lot better. But that’s in the past, so I’m just going to look forward to getting better for the South Carolina game.”