Northwestern football’s Devin Turner shines in sophomore season

LINCOLN, Neb. — When Northwestern took the field against Nebraska in Memorial Stadium’s 100-year anniversary celebration, the contest carried all the looks of a defensive duel — a game of inches that could be decided by the finest of margins.

In front of 86,769 fans that distinctly demonstrated the dictionary definition of enemy territory, sophomore safety Devin Turner silenced the smothering red and white crowd on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

Seven weeks earlier, he had the chance to make an instant imprint in the Wildcats’ season opener against Rutgers, letting a sure-fire interception slip through his fingertips on the Scarlet Knights’ first drive. Midway through the year, Turner made defensive drops a point of emphasis.

“I just got to catch the ball — too many dropped opportunities,” Turner said. “I should have about four interceptions right now.”

This time he’d make no mistake.

While Cornhusker coach Matt Rhule’s starting script looked to catch NU’s secondary off-guard, Turner read Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg’s heave like a book. Turner extended his arms and snatched the pass from the sunny skies for his first career interception.

But the Little Elm, Texas, native was built for making big plays in the grandest of moments after fine-tuning his ability in high school football’s mecca, according to Lone Star High School varsity football head coach Jeff Rayburn.

“The way we do things here in Texas; it’s year-round,” Rayburn said. “It’s not just the season, but in the offseason, you’re here early for lifts, (then) you run track in the afternoon. The schedule they keep (in college) is very similar, and so it’s not a culture shock.”

Two defensive drives later, Turner laid the initial lick that senior linebacker Bryce Gallagher capped off for a forced fumble. The safety seemingly carried a sixth sense, gravitating to prime position to make a play before the opposition even knew what hit them.

Northwestern picks it off to start the game! 🙌@NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/vKAnOQGp35

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 21, 2023

During a career day where he tallied five tackles and a tackle for loss to go along with his interception, Turner made his impact from sideline to sideline.

“He should have five picks by now,” redshirt senior defensive back Coco Azema said. “He’s always in the right spot.”

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Although Turner’s playmaking prowess resulted in an immediate introduction to the Cornhuskers faithful, the defensive back’s instant impression on his future high school coaches preceded any on-field looks.

Whenever he attended the Rangers’ youth football camps, Turner always donned an eye-catching getup.

“Small, little nerdy kid, wearing fluorescent clothes and big Rec Spec goggles — that was Devin Turner,” Rayburn said with a chuckle. “Devin came to all our little kid football camps, and was kind of the Energizer Bunny kid.”

While his neon attire grabbed his prospective coaches’ eyes, Turner’s motor maintained their attention. Coming from a military family, his ex-marine father, David Turner, instilled an undeterred drive deep within his son from an early age.

Turner said his father put him through plenty of workouts, but the sophomore learned the most from his dad’s life lessons.

“The biggest thing I gained from the military — that everybody thinks is just hard work and discipline — really is the love and caring that he showed us,” Turner said. “This love — it’s not about hard love — but actually loving us and understanding everything’s not about what we want to do, (instead) it’s more about the process that gets us there.”

Lone Star’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Barrett Earnest first crossed paths with Turner when the NU star was in seventh grade. Earnest, who played SEC football at Alabama from 2003-2006, had recently moved from Tennessee to Texas to pursue a new job on the sidelines.

Earnest said he’ll forever remember the first time he saw Turner’s glasses shift within his facemask as he made a big hit. He quickly noticed that Turner’s love for the process, fueled by his father’s guiding example, translated right into the defensive back’s approach on the gridiron.

“As a seventh grader, he wasn’t the strongest, he wasn’t the fastest, but he did work. And, man — he would work so hard,” Earnest said. “What he lacked at the time in pure ability, he made up for with how hard he worked.”

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Before enrolling in high school, Turner made consistent strides in all facets of his game, but he knew he was far from merely tapping the surface of his potential. So, Turner and his family reached out to Tony Francis, a personal trainer and owner of ERI Athletics.

The two hit the ground running on speed, strength and endurance training. Francis said Turner’s goal-oriented persona immediately jumped off the page. In the weeks leading up to his freshman year, Turner laid out his mission to his trainer.

“He told me, ‘Coach Francis, I know I’m not the biggest, but nobody is going to outwork me,’” Francis said. “He understood that he was undersized, but he didn’t let that deter him… He was eating around the clock, making sure he was sleeping (and) hydrating; he was doing all the things within his control to put himself in the best situation possible.”

For two seasons, Turner bided his time on the junior varsity squad, seeking an opportunity to make his mark at the 5A varsity level. He received a varsity call up for the team’s playoff run during his sophomore season, and served as a practice player.

Then, the once-undersized kid hit a vital growth spurt before his junior year, shooting up above six feet tall. While the Rangers’ coaching staff initially intended to plug Turner in at corner, Earnest realized he fit the mold of the modern day safety, capable of unleashing hard hits and making plays in coverage at will.

Three weeks into Turner’s junior season, he scheduled a meeting with Earnest. There, the newly minted safety reaffirmed his position coach’s faith in him.

“From that point forward, he became the vocal leader — he led by example,” Earnest said. “He was an ultimate leader for us over there on defense. (With) how much the game, the program, everything mattered to him, then to him taking the leadership role on, he went above and beyond what a leader does in most cases.”

After he took command of the defensive side of the ball, holding himself and his teammates to the highest standards, his coaches decided to unleash the dominant defender on both sides of the ball, slotting Turner in at wide receiver.

Rayburn said Turner’s natural ability and elite IQ paid instant dividends on the opposite side of the ball.

“The vibe and the mood — everything changed when he would change sides of the ball,” Rayburn said. “The way he worked and how he got to galvanize the group was really special.”

Despite never having ascended the Everest-esque incline of a Texas 5A state championship, Turner left a lasting impact on the culture of Rayburn’s and Earnest’s program. And, he’s carried that same presence to Evanston.

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When Turner first stepped onto the Evanston campus as a 17-year-old, he didn’t expect to be thrust into a starting role less than a year later. But, in an injury-riddled 2022 season for the secondary, Turner made his debut at Penn State. He’d go on to play in NU’s final eight games that year.

His play quickly impressed associate head coach and defensive backs coach Matt MacPherson, who relayed how the then-freshman was “always in the right spot” to his high school coaches.

That notion quickly spread to his teammates.

“He acts like a coach’s kid,” Azema said. “Devin’s always in the room with the coaches, and they’re watching practice film and things like that. Devin loves the game of football and he loves the preparation.”

After tallying 32 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in his freshman campaign, Turner entered the offseason looking to add more weight to his frame to match the physicality and endurance required of a Power Five safety. Using squats to build power in his legs, Turner turned 190 pounds into 210 by the time spring practices hit.

Now through seven games of his sophomore campaign, Turner continues to carve out a substantial role in interim head coach David Braun’s starting lineup, delivering a bevy of big hits and getting his gloves into passing lanes.

“It’s just him owning his process, but that’s a young man that continues to grow and continues to improve,” Braun said.

Packed with heaps of potential, there’s little telling where Turner’s ceiling may be.

But, those who’ve witnessed the sophomore’s ascension and maturity know that he’s maintained the same drive that pushed him to work when the lights didn’t shine.

According to his longtime trainer, even when nobody was watching, Turner’s character has always shone through.

“A lot of people fail to realize what it takes to be at that level to be at Northwestern,” Francis said. “Not only did he understand what it took, he was willing to do it — and he did so while maintaining his character. There will never be a stat sheet that can determine how genuine and how phenomenal a human being he is.”

Lawrence Price contributed reporting.

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