Steven Turner Signs with Argonauts to Fulfill Long-time Dreams
Coach Leroy Blugh clearly has a knack for shaping his players into professional talent, as seen in Jamall Lee, Dan McCullough and James Yurichuk, all of whom settled very nicely in the CFL. More recently however, the spotlight has been on the next three promising Gaiters: Shawn Gore (who recently signed a rookie contract with the Green Bay Packers), Justin Conn (who was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes), and Steven Turner (whose CFL fate was questionable after getting a shot at the NFL with the Chicago Bears).
Turner’s performance at the CFL combine was so impressive that he even caught the eye of NFL scouts. Turner made headlines as he ran the 40-yard dash in a record-breaking time of 4.31 seconds, topping his former Gaiter teammate Jamall Lee, who broke the record last year with a time of 4.39 seconds. He also posted a vertical leap of 43.5 inches, only half an inch short of Lee’s record 44-inch jump last year. To cap his unbelievable combine, he was the fastest to perform the shuttle run, with a time of 4.03 seconds. If Turner had participated in the NFL combine, he would have ranked second in both the 40-yard dash time and vertical jump.
The wide receiver and kick returner from Brampton, Ontario was not given a contract offer from the Bears after attending their mini-camp, but it opened the door to another dream come true. The Toronto Argonauts had previously drafted Turner after he fell through the scouting standings because of his undecided fate with the Bears. When Chicago fell through, Turner was not disappointed, but rather thrilled to sign with his hometown team.
“Going to Chicago was a learning experience. I’m not going to go somewhere and cry about it and be down about it. At the end of the day, I’m still a CFL player. Not getting a call from the Bears doesn’t affect me at all.”
Turner likes the idea of playing close to home so that his family can watch him play more often as an Argo than during his days at Bishop’s, where the ten hour trip to Lennoxville just wasn’t feasible. “My family is really excited to watch me play more than they have in the past,” he said. Turner may only be 5′9″, 185 pounds, but he led the CIS last season in punt returns with an average of 20.4 yards per return, two of them going for touchdowns. “Being a smaller player, I’ve always faced challenges, always having to prove people wrong and stuff like that. I basically just have to go out there and show my potential.”
Keeping in mind that retired Argonaut and CFL Hall of Fame inductee Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons was only 5’6″, 170 pounds, Turner can surely fill the void that the Argonauts are missing on special teams and punt return, with the loss of Dominique Dorsey, who signed with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders during the offseason.
“I hope to help in their return game as much as possible. That’s one of the things I think I can excel at,” Turner said.
The Argonauts open up their season in Calgary on Canada Day against the Stampeders. If you want to check out Turner in action close to Bishop’s when classes starts up in the fall, the Argos face the Alouettes in Montreal on November 7.
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