Scouting Profile: Shemar Turner - IDL - Texas A&M
Sales Pitch: Rangy athletic defender with endless amounts of energy. A lack of polish and control have limited his counting stats but shows the tools and versatility to be a quality starter.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Shemar Turner is a former 4-Star recruit from the state of Texas. He was a four year contributor at Texas A&M, receiving 2nd Team All-SEC honors in 2023. A consistent staple for the Aggies defensive line, Turner logged with 35 consecutive starts to end his career, despite playing through multiple injures, at both DL and EDGE.
Turner is a long rangy athlete with plus movement skills. As a former EDGE, he is a hair undersized for the position, but displays a springy first and excellent flexibility. Turner brings a fire to the defensive side of the ball with his junk yard dog mentality and infectious energy. He is a strong run defender who doesn’t shy away from contact. He displays the lower body strength and bend to take on blockers and hold his ground at the point of attack. Turner has quick powerful hands that quickly discard lineman when he engages with them. His ability to quickly beat blocks and attack upfield makes him a consistent disrupter in the run game. Turner’s effort and athleticism makes him an effective pursuit defender as well. His range and agility allows him to navigate traffic and make plays from the backside of the formation on a consistent basis. Despite lack luster pass rush stats Turner has the size and burst to be a plus rusher with more polish. His lateral agility also makes him a weapon on stunts and twists.
Turner is slightly on the lighter side for a DT, which can be an issue in run defense at times. Double teams are able to get good initial knockback on him. He also struggles with an inconsistent pad level and base width, which results in some really ugly losses when lineman get leverage on him. The biggest question about Turner’s game is his pass rush ability. He had a strong season in 2023 as an EDGE with 36 pressures and 5 sacks, but only 21 and 2 respectively in 2024 with more reps on the inside. The tools are there, but he struggles to pair them with a cohesive pass rush plan. His hand placement is sloppy and he struggles to chain moves together to finish his wins. Despite his bend and quickness he often whiffs on sacks in the backfield due balance issues. Turner’s energy is a good thing but he is often out of control which results in missed tackles and even sometimes penalties.
Tuner profiles as a 3T in an even front or a 4i in an odd front. He has the versatility to play multiple alignments and in a variety of schemes. When combined with his physical tools it makes him an intriguing talent. His lack of polish and control is a concern but given his traits and mental makeup he should end up being a safe bet to go sometime on Day 2.