2021 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #12, Nevada TE Cole Turner
The Wolf Pack tight end added a unique dimension to the Air Raid and cracks out list of the Mountain West’s top performers.
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A red zone nightmare.
Normally, the goal line fade is derided as a low-percentage play that isn’t worth calling as much as it is across college football. Sometimes, though, you discover someone can turn that route into money, which is exactly what the next player on our annual countdown of Mountain West football’s best athletes did in 2020.
Cole Turner had appeared in 25 games over his first two seasons with the Nevada Wolf Pack, but because Matt Mumme’s Air Raid offense didn’t typically feature tight ends, it was easy to overlook just how much he could contribute going into 2020 (after all, he had just six combined catches in 2018 and 2019). A dominant season-opening performance against a stingy Wyoming defense opened plenty of eyes and paved the way for what might have been 2020’s biggest overall breakout: 49 catches, 605 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, culminating in an appearance on the all-conference first team offense.
Now that the bar has been raised for Nevada and everyone knows what Turner is capable of, you might be tempted to think we’ve seen the best of what he has to offer. The next time you see him outrun a linebacker down the seam or outjump a defensive back for a critical first down or touchdown, though, you’ll know better.
Imma leave this right here..
Carson Strong hits Cole Turner on a back-shoulder fade for a TD!#BattleBorn // #NevadaGrit pic.twitter.com/ddb11XPVO2
— Nevada Football (@NevadaFootball) December 22, 2020
In his first year after making switch from WR, @NevadaFootball TE Cole Turner (@KingCole_Turner) had breakout 2020 with 49 catches for 605 yards & 9 TD. Seam-stretching 6060e mismatch player has packed on 35 lbs in past year and should continue to ascend. #TheDraftStartsInMobile pic.twitter.com/i7oEXq03EZ
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) June 2, 2021
