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Boise State numerical roster countdown 2015: Day 98, Antoine Turner

By Casey Joplin
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

One down, 98 days to go until our lives can resume normally. We continue with the big boys today with Antoine Turner.

#98, Antoine Turner, RS Senior, DT

Antoine Turner

Stats

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 274 lbs

College: Fullerton College, Fullerton, California

How'd he get to the Blue™?

By way of the School of Hard Knocks. No seriously, if you haven’t heard this guy’s story, you’ve been living under a rock or something. But I warn you. If you watch this without tissues, you may short circuit your keyboard. His story is the opposite of the typical high school player: grow up playing Pop Warner, play high school football, get noticed by colleges, get scholarships, play college ball. Turner lost his mother to cancer when he was just 4. He hung around less than savory folk as he grew up, and Hurricane Katrina further mangled an already tattered life. He turned to running drugs for dealers simply to survive. This all happened before he left high school. His final year of school is where he found his outlet: football.

He was occupied with practice and training, keeping him from going back to gangs. And while he excelled at football, his grades struggled. D1 was not an option for him out of high school but he found his way to Fullerton College in California. It was both a blessing and a curse, as Turner found the education he needed, but had no one, and slept on park benches at night. He eventually moved in with his girlfriend’s family, but due to some government housing restrictions, was forced back onto the street just prior to coming to Boise State. Through some quick actions and careful attention to detail, BSU was able to provide assistance to Turner in his final weeks before arriving on campus.

Nickname

"Relentless"

A tad corny maybe, but if there were ever a word to describe Turner, it’s relentless. He is relentless not just on the field, but in life. Time and time again, he could have given up, but he didn’t, and Bronco Nation is thankful for that.

Look-a-like

Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild

Career Highlights

Turner was a top 25 DT at the junior college level, registering 56 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks at Fullerton. He had 13 total tackles last year with a notable tackle for loss in the Fiesta Bowl against Arizona.

2015 Prospectus

As Drew stated yesterday, I’m also excited for this year’s D-Line. Easily the deepest we have had in some time, we have a wealth of talent at DT, including Turner. While we lose A TON of talent at the end of the year, let’s not dwell on that. Let’s think about how fresh our DL will be because they will be 3 deep in starters. Turner should see the field plenty, but whether or not he will start remains to be seen. Horn, Mataele, Taimatuia, Ash, Hoyte, and Nance have all played in the past, but I see no reason why Turner couldn’t be playing with the twos.


Fall camp will be pivotal for the DL to identify those starters and who will back them up.  I think it’s safe to say that Nance will start. But Horn and Taimatuia are coming off injuries, Mataele coming off a suspension, and Ash and Hoyte are the least seasoned as far as playtime at the position. Let’s not forget about Boles, Moa, or Locher either. Though true or redshirt freshman rarely start, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. If those guys show up in fall camp, they could very well earn a top spot. Fall will be very interesting for the defense.

Is he on Twitter?

Merry Christmas

Completely made up fact

Turner is an accomplished Settlers of Catan player. In fact, he has never lost a game in the last 10,378. In player circles in the game’s homeland, he’s known as "König von Weizen".