SI All-American Candidate Dallas Turner Highlights and Evaluation

Dallas Turner is a defensive end prospect from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Turner is an SI All-American candidate.

Prospect: DE Dallas Turner

Projected Position: Edge

Status: SI All-American candidate

Vitals: 6-foot-3, 225 pounds

School: Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas

Committed to: Alabama

Frame: Shoulders are fairly wide with long arms, big hands and promising chest. Athletic lower-half with solid thickness in thighs and hips. 

Athleticism: Long with good twitch to his first step and vertical track. Flexible on edge and possesses good sinkage and bendability. Good torso rotation to influence hips to corner, as well as offer quick change of direction to hunt and chase versus run. Flashes heavy hands and strength at the point when he brings his hips and feet through man. 

Instincts: Very good mental processing and eye discipline. Quickly finds mesh points and doesn’t panic versus playside pulls or misdirection. Alert to not overrun launch points as a pass-rusher. Plays with good range and exceptional effort in chase phase. 

Polish: Currently plays with his hand down as a traditional 5 and 7-technique RDE in a 4-man front. Has also seen time at 4i in odd/tight fronts. Will work out of a 4-point stance some. Likes to use a longarm stab, as well speed-to-power to pressure passers. Also will use a spin versus short-setters. Must become more consistent at setting the edge versus playside reach and base blocks in the run game. Effort and range make up for adequate hand tempo when shedding versus run. 

Bottom Line: With his snap quickness, flexibility and ability to bend, Turner has the potential to develop into a fine pass-rusher at the next level. He generates enough body force to take advantage of soft shoulders in the entry phase of a rush, plus he plays with great effort and hustle when pursuing the ball. While his athleticism offers a foundation to be developed as a coverage defender as a Jack ‘backer in a 3-4 base alignment, Turner currently fits best with his hand down as a single C-gap DE in a defensive scheme with a 4-man front with some gap reduction and exchange principles.