Turner Tackles His Absence from the Husky Starting Lineup

The sophomore safety with the long tresses is is trying to get his minutes back.

Based on appearances alone, safety Asa Turner qualifies as the University of Washington's resident rock star, as the football player with possibly the longest hair in the Pac-12, a hipster in a helmet. 

This week, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore from Carlsbad, California, with his follicles tied tight in a man bun, met with the media that covers the Huskies for the first time in his three-year career.

Much like Kurt Cobain holding an acoustic guitar in his hands, this was Turner Unplugged. 

Literally. 

Every UW player who sits for a media session is put on video, yet there was a malfunction for half of Turner's debut session. This was similar to how the current football season has played out for him.

Turner started five games as a true freshman, a significant breakthrough, and all four games last season, which was confirmation of his talent. He's been relegated to reserve duty and special teams this time around.

Considered a little bit mysterious of a player, Turner was relaxed and open enough as he addressed his audience about his uneven career path. 

He got banged up during spring practice and fall camp, and missed time. At safety, the battle for the two spots went six-deep and he wasn't chosen. He's circumspect about it all. 

"The injuries [were] kind of a hold-up, but I felt like it made me stronger in different ways, in studying the playbook and stuff, and giving me time to recover my body," he said. "In the competition on the team, I've just kind of kept my head down, going all out every day and just doing all that I can do — doing my my best so I'm satisfied with my work."

Asa Turner shows up for UW practice.  / Dan Raley

While long, lanky and athletic, Turner's biggest drawback might be his lack of physicality. He doesn't deny it. He's not Budda Baker, Lawyer Milloy or Jimmy Rodgers coming up from the back row to splatter someone.

"To this day, it's probably tackling," he said. "There's a lot to work on, but the main thing is probably tackling. I know the playbook inside and out. Now I'm able to play fast. I just need to get the details down."

Slowly regaining snaps over the past two outings, Turner turned up on the field in overtime against California and intercepted a second-quarter Oregon State pass, one of three pass thefts in his career. He's slowly a lead singer again.

Asa Turner chases down a Stanford receiver in 2020 :: Jennifer Buchanan/USA TODAY Sports

Expanding his game, he makes sure in meetings to sit next to coveted cornerback Trent McDuffie, someone he came in with in his UW recruiting class. Rubbing up against a proven commodity helps him.

"It's probably just a professional vibe," he said of his relationship with the Husky secondary leader. "I sit next to him in the room and we're talking through the whole thing. I think we're intelligent with the football stuff. We see something in the meetings, [and] we're calling it out before the coaches do."

Asa Turner missed the spring game with an injury.  / Dan Raley

Next up is UCLA, but Turner isn't feeling any extra sort of personal SoCal responsibility to lay one on the Bruins. He's a man with long tresses, but not deep roots.

While he played his high school football in the San Diego area, he identifies more with Hawaii, where his family resided for 13 years. 

"I feel for most people on the team from Southern California, that's the thing for them— USC and UCLA," Turner said. "They're ready to play them. For me, it's pretty much every game is the same."

Spoken like a true rock star, where home is the open road, where each gig resembles the last and the next one. Yet to perform an encore, he's going to have to fly into the mosh pit and level someone at some point.

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