Mike Elko of the Texas A&M Aggies has a message for Shemar Turner on penalties

The Texas A&M AggiesThe momentum came to a halt last weekend when they were blown out by the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia.

Of course, the loss was due to much more than just one player making mistakes. That said, one of the biggest calls of the game was a 15-yard passer penalty on defensive lineman Shemar Turner late in the second quarter.

The penalty occurred on 2nd-and-11 from the Gamecocks 24-yard line with less than a minute remaining, moving the ball to the 39 and giving South Carolina life on the drive. The Gamecocks eventually turned that into a scoring opportunity with a field goal, tying the game and seizing the momentum at the half.

He was also given a 15-yard penalty earlier in the match, causing a Texas A&M forced turnovers when they trailed 14-3.

Of course, this isn’t the first problem Turner has had with this type of punishment. Turner was also called for unnecessary roughness against LSU in the second half while trailing 17-14. Fortunately for the Aggies, LSU turned it over on downs later in the drive. Turner also took part in a scuffle with the Tigers before the game.

He was also called for another personal foul against Arkansas with the game very much in doubt late in the fourth quarter. Luckily for A&M, it happened after the play. Oh, and he was ejected in 2023 for hitting an Ole Miss player.

In other words: there is clearly a trend here. And head coach Mike Elko is fed up.

“The conversation is not going well enough because it is not being resolved,” Elko said on Monday. “And so the conversation is that you can’t get 15-yard penalties after the snap. They’re murderers. They are selfish. You can’t do that…I have to find another way to get that message across because it’s clearly not working.”

It is clear that this is a problem that cannot continue.

So far, the Aggies are fortunate that only one of these penalties has resulted in points for the other team.

In that particular case, though, it was crushing for the Aggies. it resulted in the Gamecocks having all the momentum heading into the locker room, and Texas A&M was outscored 24-0 in the second half.

Now their hopes for the playoffs and the SEC Championship are very much in doubt.

Is that all on Turner? Of course not.

But if the Aggies make a bid for the CFP or SEC title game, they won’t be able to afford these mistakes again, especially at critical moments.

And hopefully Elko can pass that message along to its top defensive lineman.