BREAKING: Louisiana DB Nick Turner commits to Georgia Tech
After an impactful visit to the Georgia Tech campus, Nick Turner's mind was made up.
The three-star defensive back committed to Georgia Tech over Penn State and Tennessee on Thursday. Turner spent much of May and June traveling from campus to campus, which included a 20-plus-hour trek to Happy Valley and visits to schools all across the Southeast before settling on the Yellow Jackets.
Turner, who plays both cornerback and safety for Brother Martin (La.) High School in New Orleans, has two former teammates at Georgia Tech in Bruce Jordan-Swilling and Tre' Swilling.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
"The coaches up there really made me feel like I was a priority, for their team, for their campus and what they're doing up there. The coaching staff made me feel like that was the place I needed to be."
"There' something special with all the coaches up there. Coach (Geoff) Collins, Coach Brent Key and Coach (Jeff) Popovich, they were really hard on me. They had a lot of energy and they're trying to do something special up there. They made it feel like it was home and it really opened up my eyes to Georgia Tech. They're really trying to do something new there."
"I love that Coach Collins coaches the defensive back and he has a track record for getting guys to the next level everywhere he has been."
"They told me when I get up there, I'd be a hybrid safety. I came come down in coverage and play deep safety, and they'd move me all over the field. That's how I play and I heard everything I wanted to hear ... that I can do everything in my arsenal."
"The staff was really excited (when I committed). Coach Collins brought me into the defensive coaching staff meeting's office and they were all happy, all cheering for me and congratulating me. They can't wait for me to get over there."
"It felt right. After my parents and I talked it over, after all of our visits, we felt like Georgia Tech is somewhere I could go and prepare to take the next step."
WHY IT'S BIG FOR GEORGIA TECH
Turner was one of the bigger risers within Louisiana in the most recent Rivals rankings update. He's a versatile defensive back capable of playing either cornerback or safety at a Power 5 level with good size (6-foot, 185 pounds) and a sub 4.5 40 time.
Turner will be a jack-of-all-trades for the Georgia Tech defensive staff, which may elect to use him at both corner and safety depending on how the rest of the 2020 recruiting class shapes up. At cornerback, Turner shows fantastic coverage skills. He possesses great anticipation and tends to make timely breaks on the ball. At safety, Turner is a playmaker in centerfield as the second level of coverage. His high school staff tends to shift him out to cornerback in the red zone, where he thrives shadowing No. 1 wide receivers.
Turner has canceled his upcoming official visit to Penn State for June 21 and has not yet figured out if his commitment is entirely shut down. He intends on possibly returning to Tennessee and Penn State as early as July, but nothing is set in stone just yet.