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It's Turner's Turn to Take Over at Safety and Not Let Go

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley  |  Last updated 7/16/22

Asa Turner grew up in Hawaii before moving to the San Diego area, so it shouldn't have been all that surprising that he joined the University of Washington football team with sort of a laidback surfer vibe.

Sporting the longest hair among the Huskies, he looked the part, too, like he'd be happy if everyone just sort of left him alone to play at his own pace. Or catch a big wave.

His first three seasons as a safety for the UW secondary.were similarly detached at times.

As a true freshman, Turner backed up Cam Williams for five games, wrestled the starting job away from him for five games and gave it back.

In 2020, he started all four games of the pandemic-shortened Husky schedule and seemed to establish himself as a No. 1 safety for seasons to come.

However, Turner was relegated to back-up for the first five games of the 2021 season, playing behind a host of Huskies. He finally started four times over the latter half of the schedule, but hurt his shoulder in the process.

He's in, he's out, never settling into either role for long, always more of a mystery player than an established talent.

Along the way, Turner admitted his tackling wasn't very good, which some former Husky greats took to mean that he didn't like to hit people.

Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff changed all of this during spring practice. Turner clearly became a Husky reclamation project. The new guys apparently impressed on him that he could do a lot more. That he shouldn't for anything less than greatness. 

He ran with the No. 1 defense when practice began and never came out. His 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame looked more buff. His body language suggested he was more motivated than before to excel at safety.

"We sort of talked about it together," fellow safety Alex Cook said. "We were missing that leadership piece. We need to step it up."

UW FREE SAFETY DEPTH

1) Asa Turner, 6-3, 200, Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.

2) Cam Williams, 6-0, 205, Jr., Bakersfield, Calif. 

3) Vince Nunley, 6-1, 191, R-Fr., Oakland, Calif. 

Williams and Turner came in together and continue to battle for the starting job at free safety, which they've continuously shared. Williams is coming off an injury-filled season in which he played in just seven games and started three. Yet he had one of the biggest plays of last season, causing a goal-line fumble to seal a 31-24 overtime victory over California.

Nunley redshirted last year and then missed a good portion of spring practice after he was injured. His big frame should enable him to bid for a starting job in seasons ahead. 

Conclusion: The Huskies need Turner to step up and be more of a playmaker than he's been. He's one of the few veterans returning for a UW defense that will get a significant makeover with six new starters overall. If he somehow loses his momentum, Williams is waiting in the wings to step in for him. But a fully-engaged Turner would be a good thing for the Huskies. 

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This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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