A.J. Turner

2017 Most Explosive Player Award – Offense

2016 Athlon’s SEC All-Freshman Second Team

CAREER
Versatile performer whose primary position was running back, but also played some cornerback and was a kickoff returner… spent the bulk of his career on offense, but played in the secondary in the 2018 Belk Bowl… was an excellent special teams performer… became the 43rd player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career and finished his career 30th with 1,322 yards…  played in 44 games making 11 starts… scored 11 TDs and logged three 100-yard rushing games.

2019
Senior who struggled with injuries throughout his final campaign… saw action in seven games, primarily on special teams… spent most of the season playing defensive back, but finished the year back at running back, where he spent the bulk of his career… hampered early in the season with a shoulder injury, and later by a thumb and then a hamstring injury… credited with one tackle… graduated in December.

2018    
Redshirt junior who saw action in 12 games, making one start… primarily used at running back, but also a significant contributor on special teams… saw action in the defensive secondary in the Akron and Virginia games… rushed 46 times for 294 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry with a pair of touchdowns… also caught eight passes for 75 yards and two scores and returned four kickoffs for 83 yards, a 20.8-yard average… had nine carries for 64 yards against Vanderbilt… did not play against Texas A&M after leaving the Missouri game with an injury… carried the ball five times for 17 yards and a touchdown vs. Ole Miss and also hauled in a 21-yard reception against the Rebels… was Carolina’s leading rusher in the Florida game with 12 carries for a season-high 81 yards… had a big day vs. Chattanooga, with eight carries for 65 yards and a touchdown plus three catches for 34 yards and two more scores, becoming the only Gamecock to score three times in one game in 2018… did not have any carries in the final two regular season games while nursing a shoulder injury… practiced exclusively on defense during bowl mini-camp.

2017    
Redshirt sophomore running back who began the year as the third-team back and finished the season as the team’s top rusher… logged 531 yards on 98 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per rush, with three touchdowns… also caught 18 passes for 117 yards and returned a team-high 11 kicks for a 17.1-yard average… paced the team with 836 all-purpose yards, an average of 64.3 per game… recognized as the Most Explosive Player on offense… also credited with a team-high six tackles on special teams… had just 20 carries for 60 yards (3.0 per carry) through the first six games before rushing 78 times for 471 yards (6.0 per carry) over the final seven contests after Rico Dowdle was injured… rushed 14 times for 86 yards and the only touchdown of the game in the win over Tennessee… surpassed that with a 15-carry, 121-yard, one-score performance against Vanderbilt… set career highs in the win over Florida when he gained 136 yards on 22 carries and added 36 yards on three receptions… also made a key play after a Carolina interception against the Gators, recovering a Florida fumble in the end zone… reached 1,000 career rushing yards in the Wofford win, when he led the team with 69 yards on the ground… left the Clemson game early in the game with a high ankle sprain.

2016    
Redshirt freshman running back who played in 12 games with four starts…. named to Athlon’s All-SEC Freshman second team as a kick returner… ranked second on the team with 116 carries for 497 yards…  led the team with 13 carries for 70 yards at Vanderbilt… had an 18-yard touchdown reception at Mississippi State for his first career TD… burst 80 yards on the opening kick to set up South Carolina’s first touchdown against East Carolina… was back in the starting lineup at Kentucky, when he carried the ball 12 times for 42 yards and a score… had his best rushing game against Texas A&M with 10 carries for 116 yards and a TD while also catching four passes for 22 yards… broke loose on the A&M game’s first play from scrimmage, racing 75 yards to paydirt just 17 seconds into the game, the fastest score for Carolina since 2010… carried the ball 11 times for 30 yards, caught four passes for 17 yards and returned three kicks for 69 yards against Georgia… left the Missouri game with an injury and missed the Florida game… returned to carry the ball 17 times for 97 yards against Western Carolina… had 10 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown in the Birmingham Bowl versus USF.

2015    
Redshirted as a true freshman.

HIGH SCHOOL    
Running back who graduated from Centreville High School in Clifton, Va., in 2015… played both sides of the ball for head coach Chris Haddock… missed much of his senior season with a wrist injury when the Wildcats went 12-3 and reached the state 6A title game before losing in overtime… played in the International Bowl in Arlington, Texas… helped guide his team to an undefeated season and a state title as a junior when he rushed for 1,287 yards, scored 32 TDs and logged eight interceptions… rated the 18th-best player in the state and the 44th-best running back in the nation by Rivals… considered the 41st-best running back in the country by Scout… regarded as the 17th-best player in the state and the 34th-best running back in the country by 247Sports… ranked as the 31st-best player in Virginia and the No. 80 running back in the country by ESPN.

PERSONAL    
Antonio Turner was born May 12, 1997… is an interdisciplinary studies major who graduated in December.