Texas A&M Aggies' Mike Elko Has A Message For Shemar Turner About Penalties

Texas A&M Aggies coach Mike Elko has been frustrated with defensive lineman Shemar Turner as of late.

Nov 2, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Turner (5) hits South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) in the knees, drawing a personal foul penalty, in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies' momentum came to a halt this past weekend when they were blown out by the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia.

Of course, the loss was due to far more than just one player making mistakes. That said, one of the biggest calls of the game was a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on defensive lineman Shemar Turner late in the second quarter.

The penalty occurred on 2nd and 11 from the Gamecocks 24-yard line with less than a minute to go, moving the ball to the 39, and giving South Carolina life on the drive. The Gamecocks eventually parlayed that into a scoring opportunity with a field goal, tying the game and grabbing momentum at the half.

He also had a 15-yard penalty earlier in the game that reversed a Texas A&M forced turnover when they were trailing 14-3.

Of course, this isn't the first issue Turner has had with these kinds of penalties either. Turner was also called for unnecessary roughness against LSU in the second half while trailing 17-14. Fortunately for the Aggies, LSU turned it over on downs later on the drive. Turner also participated in a scuffle with the Tigers before the game.

He was also called for another personal foul against Arkansas with the game very much in doubt late in the fourth quarter. Fortunately for A&M, it occurred after the play. Oh, and he was ejected in 2023 for punching an Ole Miss player.

In other words, there is obviously a trend here. And head coach Mike Elko is tired of it.

“The conversation’s not going well enough, because it’s not getting fixed,” Elko said on Monday. “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... I’ve got to find a different way to get that message across because it’s clearly not working."

Obviously, this is an issue that cannot continue.

Thus far, the Aggies are just lucky that only one of these penalties has resulted in points for the other team.

In that particular case, however, it was crushing for the Aggies. it resulted in the Gamecocks having all the momentum heading into the locker room, and Texas A&M was outscored 24-0 in the second half.

Now, their playoff and SEC Championship hopes are very much in doubt.

Is that all on Turner? Of course not.

But if the Aggies are going to make a push for the CFP or SEC title game, they will not be able to afford any more of these mistakes, particularly in critical moments.

And hopefully, Elko can get that message through to his star defensive lineman.

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