When we talk about something go “full circle”, a perfect example would be the recruiting journey of Carlsbad, CA. safety, Asa Turner.
“The last time, I was still was unsure — I wasn’t fully ready. I knew it was more UW than Notre Dame and I didn’t want to lose my spot”, Turner said of his original commitment to Washington back in June, “This time I’m all in.”
The Husky commitment for Turner back in June got off to a rough start; before Turner even had a chance to contact Notre Dame coaches to tell them of his decision, the news was on twitter because it was leaked to the media.
Turner would wait several days to make the announcement, himself, but he begun to feel like he was being rushed and pressured.
So when signing day came around, he wasn’t ready and had begun leaning to Notre Dame, but the Huskies didn’t give up, and at the end of the day it came down to two things: Relationships, and position.
Washington wanted Turner at safety, while the Irish wanted him at linebacker.
“At the Army game I had guys playing ahead of me and they knew the position and were better than me”, he said, noting that he didn’t feel he could get on the field as soon going to play linebacker at Notre Dame, “I know at Washington I can play early and that was one of the main decision-makers for me. Coach Lake thinks I could be a freshman All American. We sat down and watched film and, already, I’m learning and am able to work on the coverages.”
The other factor, again is those relationships.
“Coach Lake recruited me for two and a half years”, Turner said, “He was at my school today and was with me until around five o’clock…the coaches already knew because, actually, I committed last Sunday.”
Telling Notre Dame this time wasn’t any easier than it was the last time for Turner, though, “They put in a lot of time with me…plane rides, coming out to see me, but they understood.”
But Turner has his goals at Washington set, “I look up to Taylor Rapp”, he said, “I know that Coach Lake likes my size and ball skills.” And turner is confident that Lake and Will Harris can coach him to the big time before his career at Washington is over.
So now, he can relax, “It definitely feels good (to have this done)”, Turner said, “I’m excited.”
He will be signing his letter on Wednesday, and they will have a small gathering at Carlsbad High School for the event. As for his mother Diane? It’s possibel she could be moving to Seattle to be closer to the action when her son enrolls at Washington.
“She’s thinking about it”, Turner said, “She’s about 70% sure.”
Turner is such a thoughtful and gracious young man, he wanted to make sure that all of us in the media understood that he was trying to keep things close to the vest throughout the past couple of months, and he also says that now he is freed up to post whatever he wants on Twitter.
“Everything I’d post, people would freak out”, he laughed, referring to a tweet last week about it being “down time” for him, “I just stopped tweeting because everyone was reading so much into whatever I would say.”
This is a huge pickup for the Huskies, and a pick hats off to Jimmy Lake, who continues to win these head-to-head battles with Notre Dame for the most coveted defensive backs.
