Following Thursday’s scrimmage at Memorial Stadium, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave more information on the situation of fifth-year senior wide receiver Cole Turner, who is currently away from the program.

Turner has temporarily stepped away from the team during fall camp to handle personal matters, and Swinney said he isn’t sure when Turner will be back, but that the Tigers are continuing to support him.

“He practiced the first day [of camp]. He’s been gone since the first day,” Swinney said.

“I’m not sure when he’ll be back,” Swinney added. “We’re just kind of supporting him in the situation he’s dealing with right now.”

Team spokesperson Ross Taylor told The Clemson Insider that Turner is “still part of the program, but stepped away in early camp with the program’s support to attend to some personal matters.” Taylor also informed TCI that there’s no changes to Turner’s roster status.

Turner has been expected to play a rotational role for Clemson’s receiving corps. In 31 career game appearances for the Tigers from 2022-25, he has recorded 43 receptions for 562 yards and two touchdowns, as well as six carries for 54 yards and a rushing score.

Last season, Turner appeared in all 12 regular season games (two starts), tallying 16 receptions for 144 yards. He was sidelined for the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Penn State due to a lower-body injury requiring surgery.

Turner flashed down the stretch of his redshirt season in 2022, including a 100-yard effort in his second career game in the 2022 ACC Championship Game, then caught three passes for 28 yards over two games in 2023 before missing the majority of the season with an adductor injury and earning a medical redshirt. In 2024, he recorded 16 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns, and five rushing attempts for 56 yards and another score, over 14 games.

Cole is the younger brother of Nolan Turner, a former All-American safety and team captain who currently serves as Clemson’s safeties coach. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was college teammates at Alabama with Cole and Nolan’s late father, Kevin Turner, who played eight seasons in the NFL before passing away in 2016 after a long battle with ALS.