Nolan Turner’s incredible football journey continues with Bucs

TAMPA — When Nolan Turner arrived in Tampa in May to begin rookie minicamp with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent, he was randomly assigned a jersey number.

“They just threw him No. 34,” said Dabo Swinney, who coached Turner at Clemson. “And that was his dad’s number. His dad was No. 34 for the Patriots and the Eagles. I just laughed. I told him, that’s just a Godwink right there.”

Godwinks are things seen as coincidences that weren’t really coincidence but came from divine origin.

Kevin Turner played fullback for three seasons for the Patriots and five for the Eagles in the 1990s. He didn’t live long enough to see his son play safety at Clemson, much less in the NFL.

“Obviously, I think about him all the time,” Nolan, 24, said. “It’s just really special to kind of come up in that football family, and it’s kind of ingrained in you. And being able to be out here, it’s just surreal.”

Nolan was 12 when his dad told him he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. By the time Kevin learned that Nolan had committed to play at Clemson for Swinney, his former teammate at Alabama, he had lost the ability to communicate except through a computer screen. He used his eyes to convey his thoughts one letter at a time as he focused on them.

“Let me be realistic for a moment,” Kevin wrote in a text to Swinney. “Most likely, I won’t see Nolan graduate, and there’s nothing you could’ve told me that would’ve made me happier than to tell me that a man of your character and integrity is going to be there for my son after I’m gone.

“I didn’t bring him here for football, although that’s a bonus. I wanted mostly for him to meet you and you to meet him. I’m not scared of dying. But not being there for my kids terrifies me.”

‘K.T. brought me to Clemson’

Swinney still carries the message on his phone and read it aloud as part of a eulogy at Kevin’s funeral in 2016.

They had known each other since their playing days, and Swinney said Kevin took on almost a mythical status. Big (6 feet 1, 231 pounds) and physical but quiet, nobody challenged him at practice or in a game unless they did at their own peril.

“Oh my gosh, he was actually one of my heroes when I first started playing at Alabama,” Swinney said. “Man, this guy was bigger than life. He didn’t say a lot. Nobody messed with K.T. He was just so much like Nolan. Tough. About his business. Just this unbelievable demeanor.”

Their paths crossed again years later.

While Kevin was drafted in the third round by the Patriots in 1992, Swinney remained at Alabama as a graduate assistant and then assistant receivers and tight ends coach. Swinney’s contract expired in spring 2001. He went to work in real estate with a company that developed shopping centers. Rich Wingo, a former strength coach at Alabama, hired Swinney and Kevin.

Kevin was in charge of a shopping center the company was building in Anderson, South Carolina, about 14 miles from Clemson. He and Swinney got rooms at the La Quinta Inn on the main drag.

“One night we were sitting there and I said, ‘K.T., how far is Clemson from here? I would love to see Clemson,’ " Swinney said. “He goes, ‘Ah, it’s just a few miles down the road.’ We hopped in the car, and K.T. brought me to Clemson. The first time I ever laid eyes on it. And I never forget calling my wife, saying, ‘Guess where I’m at? I’m at the Valley. I’m at the Rock.’ "

Almost exactly a year later, Swinney got a call from then-head coach Tommy Bowden offering him a chance to coach at Clemson. Swinney started there in 2003.

“The crazy thing is,” Swinney said, “K.T. brought me to Clemson.”

‘He’s a baller’

How Nolan came to play at Clemson is another story. Swinney wasn’t looking to recruit defensive backs after the Tigers’ national title game win against Alabama for the 2016 season. But then T.J. Greene, Jayron Kearse, Travis Blanks and Mackensie Alexander told Swinney they weren’t returning.

The program did a good job filling those holes with K’Von Wallace, Isaiah Simmons and Trayvon Mullen, all of whom made it to the NFL. Then, without telling him his connection to Nolan, Swinney showed defensive coordinator Brent Venables a player from Vestavia Hills High outside Birmingham, Alabama.

“I watched all his tape, and I said, ‘Well, I’m probably biased because this kid is a baller,’ " Swinney said. “He was playing off, he was playing receiver, he was playing safety, and he’s explosive and just (had) that natural athleticism his dad had.

“We were looking for another safety, so I take (the tape) down to Venables, and I say, ‘Hey, I want you to watch this kid and let me know what you think.’ He goes, ‘Well, who is he?’ And I said, ‘Let’s just watch him.’

“So he turns on the tape, and I will never forget Venables going, ‘Coach, where is this guy? He’s a baller.’ And I said, ‘That’s all I needed to know.’ "

Swinney contacted Buddy Anderson, a legendary coach at Vestavia Hills, and asked about Nolan. “Coach, this guy is as good of a player as I’ve ever had in 50 years,” Anderson told him, “and I can’t get anybody to recruit him, and it drives me crazy.”

‘You’ve got this’

Swinney called Kevin and told him he planned to fly to Birmingham and offer Nolan a scholarship.

“His father was in his last days of ALS,” Swinney said. “One of the greatest days of my life was being able to tell K.T., ‘Hey, don’t tell him, but I’m flying there tomorrow and I’m going to offer Nolan a scholarship.’ I told him the story, and it was an amazing moment.

“His granddad Raymond videotaped it, and I got some unbelievable time with K.T. We flew (Nolan) up to Clemson a couple weeks later, and K.T. was able to come. We signed (Nolan) that first Wednesday in February, and then just a month or so later … K.T. passed away.”

Kevin died March 24, 2016, at age 46.

Swinney knew people would think that he was throwing aid to the son of his teammate.

“I had to have several talks with Nolan early on,” Swinney said. " ‘Listen,’ I told him, ‘here’s going to be the narrative: You’re only getting this because this is charity. You’ve got this.’ "

His redshirt freshman year, Nolan showed he could play. By his redshirt sophomore season, he was starting in packages and situations. He was earning his coaches’ trust but others’ suspicions.

“You’ve got these highly recruited guys, and people are like, ‘Why aren’t they playing? It’s favoritism,’ " Swinney said. “Whatever. But as a coach, you’re like, this kid is everywhere he is supposed to be. He knows what he’s doing. He does it right. At the end of the day, that’s how you win.”

As a redshirt freshman, Nolan made a touchdown-saving open-field tackle on Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. As a junior, he made the game-clinching interception in the end zone with 37 seconds remaining in the national semifinals against Ohio State.

‘I love earning opportunity’

Despite a solid college career, Nolan wasn’t drafted. He entered a crowded Bucs safety room that included the additions of free agents Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal.

“It’s fun. I love it. I love working my way up,” Nolan said. “I love earning opportunity, and that’s what I get a chance to do here.”

With Neal nursing an injury, Nolan has been getting reps with the starting defense at free safety and strong safety. His speed and athleticism have stood out.

“I mean, shoot. I’m proud of (Nolan),” Ryan said. “You have to be smart to play in the secondary. That’s what I learned right away. And he’s able to do it. He’s beaten guys out because he’s smart. He’s not afraid.”

By Tuesday, the Bucs have to reduce their roster from 80 to 53. If Nolan doesn’t make the cut, he almost certainly will be signed to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

“I grew up with my dad coaching me in Little League, and it started at a young age,” Nolan said. “I think really just kind of growing up around it and being around football, just kind of falling in love with it, it was always something I wanted to pursue.

“It’s kind of crazy to think how far I’ve come since … Little League. But I think that’s what’s great about being from a football family, because you’re around the game so much.”

Nolan’s brother Cole recently committed to Clemson, and Swinney said he may be best football player among the Turners.

Swinney pulled out his phone to show Cole the text messages he had received from Kevin.

“I told him, ‘I want to bring you into this conversation that I had with your dad about you and your brother years ago,’ " Swinney said. “It’s amazing how God works, and I just have to believe it’s all ordered by the good Lord.”

Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLSTROUD.

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