Rejuvenated Turner Explains What Happened to Him in Lost 2021 Season

Asa Turner lately has been in the news a lot, which wasn't the case for the University of Washington football player 12 months ago.

For now, he's godfather to teammate Alex Cook's unborn son.

Season-opener hero. 

One-name wonder.

Husky Stadium stowaway.

In response to UW coach Kalen DeBoer's whimsical suggestion on Monday that he must be living in the Husky football facility somewhere, considering the amount of time he spends there, Turner quipped, "I told him to put me on the payroll."

At the very least, the junior from Carlsbad, California, deserves his full scholarship after intercepting a pair of passes in the UW's 45-20 victory over Kent State on Saturday, stealing the first one on the game's first scrimmage play.

He's also been saving the school money on the lettering across the back of his purple jersey. 

The player formerly known as Asa Turner wears his first name only on the back of his purple jersey rather than his last. 

A family disagreement with his father, he explained, is his reason for turning Ichiro or Bono. 

This fourth-year Husky defensive back has come a long way since last September.

"The beginning of the season kind of sucked because I didn't get to start or anything," he said. 

Turner was a forgotten man in Jimmy Lake's defense, coming off the bench in the first five games.

He started against UCLA and Arizona, but didn't play against Stanford or Oregon.

Turner closed the season by starting two of the final three games.

Performance was only part of the problem — pain factored into the situation, too.

Turner broke his ribs.

Twice.

Once against Michigan, the other against Arizona, making tackles each time.

For most people, that would have been a season-ending injury. 

Turner missed just two games and played on.

"I've always been told since I've been young that I have a high pain tolerance," he said. 

Now the 6-foot-3, 201-pound defender has a new coaching staff that is fully committed to him and he's responded with the best performance of his career and quite possibly more to come.

Whereas he previously was caught in safety limbo, Turner is motivated knowing he's a first-teamer, fully healthy again, maybe even an NFL prospect, whether as a safety or even a hybrid linebacker.

Yet first things first: the safety wants to take this coaching confidence in him, this Montlake opportunity filled with newfound truth and fun-loving myth, and see how successful he and his Husky teammates can be this season.   

"I think that's how the defense is going to do good this year — we're invested in the coaches and they're invested in us, as well," Turner said. "It goes with them putting the hard work in and putting in the hours, and, like we talked about before, me living here." 

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com