Turner Tennessees best for 05
Staking an early claim as one of the nation’s top wide receivers for the Class of 2005 is Nashville (Tenn.) Goodpasture’s Patrick Turner.
Turner (6-5, 210, 4.55) has already received scholarship offers from “everybody in the southeast with the exception of Florida State,” according to Goodpasture coach David Martin.
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“He’ll be able to go anywhere he wants to go,” Martin said. “He’s that good.”
Turner is already a two-time all-state selection. As a junior, Turner caught 56 passes for 955 yards and 12 touchdowns in leading the Cougars to an 8-3 record. He hauled in 56 receptions for 1,033 yards and 14 scores as a sophomore.
“And most of those come against double- and sometimes triple-coverage,” Martin said. “He has to do it the hard way, but he makes it look real easy at times.
“He has such natural instincts as a receiver. He has tremendous hands. He catches everything with his hands, and they’re very soft. He can adjust to the ball well while it’s in the air. And obviously, he’s just a great physical specimen.”
Martin said Turner’s build shocks a lot of scouts when they see him for the first time.
“I think a lot of them come in expecting a skinny kid,” he said. “But when they see him in person, they’re shocked at what a great-looking developed kid he is.
“He walked in here like that as a freshman. I knew we had something special.”
Martin said Turner was taking an open approach to his recruitment at this point – “I think he’s just backing off and watching what happens” – but anticipates Florida, Miami, Tennessee, LSU and Alabama to be the top schools on his early list.
“I know Tennessee and Miami will be a couple of the camps he goes to this summer,” Martin said.
Turner is also solid in the classroom, sporting a 2.5 GPA. He is expected to be an easy qualifier.