Inside The Huskies

Huskies in the Running for 4-Star Texas Running Back

Michael Turner Jr. has narrowed his college choices to six schools.

Dan Raley

Michael Turner Jr. has the UW among his 6 finalists.
Michael Turner Jr. has the UW among his 6 finalists. / Turner

When he pulls on his glasses or goggles, Michael Turner Jr. reminds you of the legendary Texas high school, college and NFL running back Eric Dickerson. Whenever Turner has a football in his hands, there's a bit of resemblance, too.

As ball carriers then and now, they're both fast and elusive. If Turner shows up for his senior year of high school football driving a Trans Am -- which Dickerson drove and was dubbed "Trans A&M" because of where it supposedly came from -- the comparison will be complete.

The difference is that car would be totally legal today in the anything goes world of college football recruiting.

From North Richland Hills, Texas, north of Fort Worth, Turner is a 6-foot, 197-pound runner and 4-star recruit from Richland High School who has narrowed his college choices to Baylor, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Utah and Washington.

For the Huskies, pursuing a Texas running back is a return to norm after they had put some distance between themselves and one-time Lone Star imports in Emeka Megwa (now at Oklahoma), Jay'Veon Sunday (Abilene Christian), Caleb Berry (briefly at Immaculate Word), Aaron Dumas (briefly at UTEP) and Will Nixon (Syracuse), all of whom transferred out of Montlake in recent years during or right after the Kalen DeBoer UW coaching era.

Now comes Turner, who is considered one of the top Texas running backs for 2025, coming off a 212-carry, 1,625-yard and 22-touchdown season as a junior for his 12-1 Royals who made it to the 5A playoff semifinals. He also appears in top 10 national listings at his position.

“Michael has always looked like a grown man, but in his junior season, he played like one," Richland coach Ged Kates told the Dallas Morning News. "His ability is through the roof."

Turner holds 23 offers, which also include Arizona, Florida, Kansas State, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin.

He received a UW scholarship offer on May 26 and hasn't visited Seattle, at least according to his online recruiting profiles.

As for those Dickerson comparisons, Turner has compiled 2,654 rushing yards and 86 touchdowns in his career entering his senior year at Richland High.

Dickerson, who played for Sealy High School outside of Houston four decades ago, finished his schoolboy career with 5,417 yards on the ground and 82 scores, and he went on to de-commit from Texas A&M and played for SMU during that school's pre-NCAA death penalty days.

A pro football hall of famer, Dickerson, 63, played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders and Atlanta Falcons, and is one of a handful of pro backs who have rushed for more than 10,000 yards.

Among his post-football ventures, the former running back great founded a sport memorabilia company with one-time Rams teammate and cornerback LeRoy Irvin -- whose son, Julius Irvin, was a Husky defensive back until medically retiring following the 2022 season.

SMU is just 30 miles from North Richland Hills, and at least one recruiting website predicts Turner will play for Dickerson's old school in Dallas, goggles and all if he wishes.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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