Coaching Staff 35 Mike Turner is the architect of one of the most potent offenses in college football. Over the last six seasons, Turner has led the Eagles to an unprecedented run at the top of the NCAA offensive rankings. Since 2007 the Carson-Newman offense has averaged 335.6 yards rushing per game and scored an average of 39.9 points. In 2013, Turner’s offense took a turn toward the air. Quarterback De’Andre Thomas set single season records Sparks-era records for passing completions and completion percentage while the veer-option attack continued to churn up yards on the ground in a hurry to the tune of 350 yards per game. It was the sixth consecutive year the Eagles’ rushing game ranked in the top five nationally. The 2012 season turned out to be the best of the bunch for the Eagles’ ground game. C-N averaged 378.6 yards a contest and scored 52 rushing touchdowns. The yards a game led Division II and were more than any other school in all division’s save the Football Championship Subdivision’s Georgia Southern Eagles. No one in collegiate football at any level had more rushing touchdowns than the Eagles 52. Turner saw great individual success among his players in 2012. Senior center Kevin Day took home the SAC’s Jacobs Blocking Award and became the Eagles’ seventh consensus all-American. Quaterback Brandon Haywood was first team all-league and the co-offensive player of the year. Running back Brandon Baker took home all-region and all-America honors after leading the league in rushing with 122.3 yards/game. Though 2011 was a rare down season for the Eagles, Carson-Newman still finished the year as the No. 5 ranked rushing offense in the county, averaging 277.4 yards per game. The Eagles were the No. 8 redzone offense, scoring 89 percent of the time. In 2010, Carson-Newman was the second-ranked rushing attack, with 311.2 yards per game. The Eagles offensive line was ranked No. 17 in the nation in sacks allowed, surrendering on 1.18 sacks per game. Four Eagles earned All-South Atlantic Conference honors on offense, while offensive tackle Michael Tribue was named a first team All- American by Daktronics for a second consecutive season. The Eagles led NCAA Division II in rushing offense in 2009, gaining 336.7 yards per game and were the No. 8-ranked total offense with 471.9 yards per game. C-N was eighth in scoring offense (33.36 points per game) and set a singlegame total offense record with 803 yards in a 70-35 victory over Tusculum College, including a school-record 671 yards on the ground. Turner’s 2007 Eagles offense was the first team in SAC history to average 49 points per conference game. His 2004 offense boasted three All-Americans; offensive linemen Caleb Crothers and Reggie Perkins as well as former Philadelphia Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver. A 1973 graduate of C-N, Turner was a standout center for the Eagles and key member of the 1972 NAIA Champion Bowl runner-up team, the first Carson-Newman squad to reach a national title game. Turner got a chance to win those national titles when he returned to Carson-Newman, after stints as an assistant coach at Randleman (N.C.) High School, Lees-McRae College and Catawba College. Turner coached the offensive line at C-N from 1980-1984, helping the Eagles win two NAIA National Championships. In 1985-86, Turner served as offensive coordinator for the University of North Alabama, guiding the offense that finished as the NCAA Division II runner-up in 1985. Turner returned to the Eagles as offensive coordinator in 1987, helping spark another run of championships. Turner left C-N for a second time to take over the football program at Science Hill High School in 1992. Returning to Carson-Newman in 1994 as the chief fundraiser for the Eagle Club, Turner once again took command of the Eagles offense in 1995. Turner was named the AFCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003. He and his wife, Conni, reside in Jefferson City, Tenn. They have two children; Jenni and Josh. MIKE TURNER OFF. COORD. 31st Year Carson-Newman ‘68
Carson-Newman Online 2014 Football Media Guide
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