Jaxen Turner is a sophomore safety for the Arizona Wildcats. He seems himself as a rookie.
Turner has appeared in eight games for the UA. He’s set to make his third career start when Arizona visits UCLA on Saturday.
Turner described his play thus far as “gradually elevating.” He has 11 tackles, including one for a loss, and one pass breakup for the 0-2 Wildcats. He’s still getting used to big-time college football. Like many of his young teammates, he’s learning as he goes.
“I just look at it as a growing process, just learning how offenses read me and just getting a feel for the college atmosphere,” Turner said this week. “I look at it as a great opportunity to get out there.”
Turner’s freshman season was cut short. He missed the final six games because of a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Turner mainly played on special teams. A rash of transfers during the offseason opened playing time at safety. Turner might have ascended the depth chart regardless.
A multisport star at Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, California, Turner was one of the top-rated recruits in Arizona’s 2019 signing class. His football offers included Arizona State, Cal, Oregon State, Utah and Washington State. They did not include UCLA or USC. Turner hasn’t forgotten that.
“As a SoCal kid, yeah, I take it kinda personal that I’m in your hometown and I gotta go to a different state to play football,” Turner said. “That’s the recruiting process. Can’t dwell on it too much. You can only take (it) where the opportunity takes you.”
Turner added that he’s striving to “be the best me I can be at Arizona.” Although he has good size (6-1, 198) and enough athleticism to have drawn mid-major scholarship offers in basketball from the likes of Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly, that’s an ongoing process.
“Jaxen Turner has had his moments,” UA coach Kevin Sumlin said. “He’s nursing a little bit of an injury (a minor leg issue). But he’s playing through it. He’s made some really good plays. He’s got a couple penalties that are questionable. But he’s been aggressive for the most part. He’s having the season that we thought he would have.”
Turner’s pass breakup came on a throw into the end zone in the opener against USC. His other notable points-saving play didn’t even register in the stat sheet. Washington punter Race Porter attempted to score a two-point conversion on a trick play in the third quarter last week. Turner rocked Porter just before he reached the goal line.
Wildcats cornerback Jaxen Turner also had some offers to play basketball in college. “You gotta keep your man in front of you,” is what he seeks to do in both sports.
That play was relatively easy to diagnose. It’s more challenging when Turner is positioned deep in the defensive backfield, tasked with deciphering the movements of multiple players. He leans on veteran secondary coach Greg Burns as much as possible between series and in film sessions.
“He’s trying to calm me down, keep me poised while reading the tackle box,” Turner said. “Reading my tackle-box keys, when tackles and tight ends block down, the triggers. Just keeping my eyes where they’re supposed to be and not in the backfield.”
Turner might be at his best in man-to-man coverage. That’s where his basketball skills are most evident. In both sports, he noted, “you gotta keep your man in front of you.”
“His build is just really good,” said UA tight end Bryce Wolma, who often faces Turner in practice. “He can move really well. One-on-ones are really tough.”
Turner was a legitimate basketball prospect coming out of high school. He averaged 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists as a senior. A point guard, Turner compared his game to Damian Lillard’s.
“I got the ice in my veins,” Turner said.
He hasn’t given up on playing basketball. Turner came to Arizona in part because he might have the opportunity to walk on to the basketball team someday.
“It’s another love of mine,” Turner said. “Hopefully next year, after this little COVID season passes by, I can get into a little bit of basketball.”
For now, Turner is focused on football. The defense hasn’t played well as a whole. The Wildcats are searching for their first win. A school that bypassed him in recruiting is up next.
“I’m not gonna say too much about it,” Turner said. “I’m just gonna go out there and play my game and show them what I can do.”
Holiday plans
Like almost every program across the country, Arizona typically has an elaborate team meal after practice on Thanksgiving. Sumlin and his staff decided that wouldn’t be a wise idea this year with the pandemic still raging and one positive COVID-19 test possibly costing a game.
But the players are still getting a traditional holiday dinner. It’s just going to be the usual post-practice setup with limited seating capacity and sneeze guards at Bear Down Kitchen and its adjacent outdoor spaces.
The menu features the following items: herb-roasted turkey breast, honey-bourbon glazed ham, sage-butter pan gravy, candied orange and cranberry compote, green bean casserole, brown-sugar-glazed carrots, apple and sage pork cornbread dressing, Boursin whipped potatoes, sweet yeast rolls, and pumpkin and caramel-apple pies.
Take-home boxes also will be provided.
Players won’t be able to see their families like usual either. Wolma, who’s from Michigan, said he and his family, including some who live in Scottsdale, have rented a house in Tucson the past three years to celebrate Thanksgiving. That isn’t happening this year.
It’s hard for the players and their loved ones, but everyone understands what’s at stake.
“God forbid someone brings something back and we have to cancel,” defensive tackle Aaron Blackwell said. “We’re all being very smart about it.”
