Player Spotlight: Jamal Turner

Story posted November 8, 2012 in CommRadio, Sports by Breanna Jacobs

Nebraska wide receiver Jamal Turner has high hopes for the Cornhuskers’ Big Ten matchup this weekend against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

“We think we’re the best in the Big Ten,” Turner told reporters earlier this week. “We’re not going to be stopped. We’re going to keep going until we accomplish what we want to accomplish, and that’s the Big Ten championship.”

Currently tied with Michigan for first place in the Big Ten’s Legends division, Turner believes that the Cornhuskers have the talent to edge out the Wolverines and get a major Big Ten victory. One of the only things standing in the Huskers way is the Nittany Lions, but Turner is confident that his offensive success will continue.

Joining the team in 2011 as a true freshman, Turner showed his talent as a receiver early on. He played in 12 games and was fifth on the team with 15 receptions for 243 yards. Turner was second on the team in yards per reception, averaging 16.2 yards per catch.

Turner’s best receiving game came against Wisconsin. He had a season-high five receptions for 84 yards and had two receptions that went for at least 25 yards.

Besides having an impressive on field presence, Turner was honored for his work in the classroom. Turner was a Nebraska Scholar Athlete and also made the Big 12 Commissioner’s Spring Academic Honor Roll.

Now in his second season with the team, Turner has continued to show his play-making abilities. So far this season, the Arlington, Texas native has 16 receptions for 214 yards and one touchdown, averaging 13.4 yards per reception.

In their first game against Southern Miss, Tuner has two receptions for 46 yards. Turner hauled in a 36-yard catch with two minutes left in the second quarter, which was shortly followed by a 29-yard touchdown pass to Steven Osborne to give the Huskers the lead. Turner was third on the team in receiving yards in the game.

Turner had his first career start against UCLA. He caught three passes for 19 yards in the game. Against Wisconsin, Turned has the longest team reception of the night, hauling in one reception for 27 yards.

Against Northwestern, Turned recorded a season-high 56 yards on three catches. With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Turned hauled in a 25-yard pass from Martinez on third and three. Turner’s catch helped set up the winning play, a Martinez pass to Ben Cotton for a touchdown, in the come from behind victory, one of the many the Cornhuskers have had this season. Nebraska won the game 29-28.

Last weekend against Michigan State, Turner made a key play to help the Cornhuskers pull out a come from behind victory. Down three points, Turner caught a five yard touchdown pass from quarterback Taylor Martinez with six seconds left in the game, giving the Huskers a 28-24 victory. The reception was Turner’s first career touchdown catch.

Turner is looking to continue making big plays against Penn State this weekend and help the Nebraska offense keep up the offensive momentum that they have established this season. Turner is confident that when the Nittany Lions travel to Lincoln this weekend, his team will have an edge and, no matter how the game starts, will be able to pull out a win in the end.

Breanna Jacobs is a junior majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, e-mail: byj5032@psu.edu.