Clemson director of player development Thad Turnipseed joining Oklahoma staff per reports
Tiger Illustrated’s Larry Williams reported that Thad Turnipseed is leaving Clemson to join Brent Venables at Oklahoma.
Turnipseed served as Clemson’s director of player development, freshman transition and external affairs.
ESPN’s Chris Low confirmed the report and said that Turnipseed will serve as Venables’ “right-hand man.”
As @LarryWilliamsTI reported, Brent Venables is taking with him to @OU_Football another key member of @ClemsonFB's staff. Thad Turnipseed will serve as Venables' right-hand man. Turnipseed came to Clemson from Alabama and was the Tigers' director of player development.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) December 10, 2021
Without an official announcement from Oklahoma yet, it’s unclear what exactly Turnipseed’s role will be with the Sooners, but he’s worn a variety of hats in the past and chances are his job title at Oklahoma will be similar to the position he just vacated at Clemson.
Turnipseed’s background is interesting. He was a former Alabama football player that was part of the Crimson Tide’s 1992 national championship team whose career ended early because of knee injuries.
The story goes that Turnipseed owned a construction and flooring business when he was approached by former Alabama athletic director Mal Moore for a donation on a capital campaign Moore wanted to kick off.
Jokingly, Turnipseed responded that he couldn’t help much in terms of donations but that he could help build it.
What followed was Turnipseed became one of the most important behind-the-scenes figures at Alabama.
The New York Times’ Matt Fortuna wrote a great piece about Turnipseed ahead of the 2017 College Football Playoff’s national championship game.
Here’s a portion of what Fortuna wrote about Turnipseed at the time detailing his role to begin with at Alabama and some of what he wound up doing at Clemson.
He started as the director of capital projects, working his way up to roles as associate athletic director for special projects and, more important, as Saban’s director of football external affairs. The catchall job titles forced Turnipseed to perform many duties; he helped to design and oversee more than $200 million in athletic projects, including stadium renovations and expansions, and helped to build a room in Saban’s house dedicated to recruiting.
At Clemson, Turnipseed was tasked with building the Tigers’ recruiting department, which has added positions with new-media-era titles — assistant director of football operations and creative media, director of new and creative media, coordinator of digital content — not to mention dozens of student helpers. These seemingly amorphous roles are all aimed at spreading Clemson’s message in forward-thinking ways, using social media to connect with recruits from a distance while also monitoring their behavior for potential red flags. – Fortuna, New York Times
Turnipseed is the second Clemson staffer to join Oklahoma. Venables announced that defensive analyst Ted Roof would be joining OU as the Sooners’ next defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Venables also announced Jeff Lebby as Oklahoma’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and that OU would retain Bill Bedenbaugh, Joe Jon Finley, Cale Gundy and DeMarco Murray on his coaching staff.
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