Christopher Evenson Turner (born September 8, 1987) is an American football player. He was a quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins at the University of Maryland from 2007 to 2009. Turner began his career at Maryland as a redshirt in 2005 and then served as a reserve quarterback before he earned the starting position.
After a redshirt season in 2005, Turner saw no playing time as the third-string quarterback the following year. In 2007, he replaced the injured starter during the game against 10th-ranked Rutgers and led the Terrapins to an upset victory. After that, he remained as the team's leader for the remainder of the season, and against eighth-ranked Boston College, engineered another upset victory. Turner also helped Maryland secure an appearance in the Emerald Bowl. At the start of the 2008 season, he was relegated to backup status, but soon regained the starting position. That year, he led Maryland in wins over four of their five ranked opponents and to an appearance in the Humanitarian Bowl. He returned as the starter for the 2009 season, but suffered a knee injury and was replaced by Jamarr Robinson.
Early life Turner was born in Simi Valley, California to parents John and Grace Turner. His father was the original drummer of the glam metal band Ratt. Chris Turner attended high school at the Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he was a three-year letterwinner and starting quarterback in football and pitcher in baseball. As a sophomore, he was on the junior varsity football team until midseason when the varsity quarterback suffered an injury against Valencia High School, a regional powerhouse. Turner described the incident as the last time that he was nervous during a game and said, "It got pretty ugly to be honest. Ever since then, I've always thought to myself, 'It can't get worse than that.'"
At Chaminade, he led a pass-oriented offense that saw him explode onto the recruiting scene when he eclipsed the 3,000 yard passing mark during his junior year, throwing for 3,391 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in only 12 games. During his senior year, he led a much more balanced offensive attack when he accumulated 139 completions on 265 attempts, 2,047 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while also averaging 8 yards every time he carried the ball. He was named to the All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) second team as a senior and the All-Mission League first team as both a junior and senior. SuperPrep picked him as a Far West all-region selection and PrepStar as an all-region selection. Turner was assessed as a Rivals.com three-star and Scout.com two-star recruit.Chris Turner Profile, Rivals.com, retrieved July 3, 2009.Chris Turner Profile, Scout.com, retrieved July 3, 2009. He received scholarship offers from Boise State, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Oregon, Utah, and UTEP. Maryland offered him after another Californian recruit, Josh Portis, chose Florida instead—although Portis later transferred to Maryland and served as a backup alongside Turner.Doug Doughty, , The Roanoke Times, October 21, 2007. Turner ultimately chose Maryland, which is located just outside Washington, D.C., partly due to his interest in politics.
College career
Experience Turner sat out his true freshman year during the 2005 season on redshirt status. In 2006, he served as the third-team quarterback behind starter Sam Hollenbach and reserve Jordan Steffy, but Turner saw no playing time during that season.
2007 season In 2007, as the second-string quarterback, he saw his first action against Villanova when he was substituted for injured starter Jordan Steffy. Turner executed a scoring drive and completed four of six passes, but also threw two interceptions. He sat out the next two games and then took one snap against Wake Forest. When the unranked Terps faced 10th-ranked Rutgers, Steffy suffered a concussion and Turner again filled in. He led drives for two touchdowns and two field goals in an upset of the Scarlet Knights, 34–24. About the then relatively unknown Turner, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said, "I wish I would have seen this guy before."Seth Hoffman, "Sunshine" Turner Shines Bright as Terps Win, Scout.com, September 29, 2007. Turner started for the remaining eight games of the season. In his career-first start, he passed for 255 yards in a win against Georgia Tech, 28–26.Rick Snider, Does Steffy have the right stuff?, The Washington Examiner, August 27, 2008. In the game, he threw a 78-yard touchdown pass, which was caught by tight end Jason Goode rather than his intended receiver, Darrius Heyward-Bey.Patrick Stevens, Past – and passed – is prologue? , The Washington Times, November 11, 2009.Turner gives good audition as Terps' QB, The Herald-Mail, October 10, 2007. After a three-game losing streak, Turner led another upset win over a top-ten team, this time against eighth-ranked Boston College, 42–35.Turner brings new life to Terps, The Washington Times, October 5, 2007, retrieved December 30, 2008. In the 24–16 loss to Florida State, Turner had his worst performance of the season. Late in the second quarter, he was benched and replaced by Steffy for two possessions. Turner said, "I didn't know that my leash was that short in the first place, to be honest. I didn't think it would come to this. I guess I should have."Marc Carig, Terrapins, Turner left licking their wounds, The Washington Post, November 17, 2007. After an uneven performance by Steffy, Turner played the entire second half and showed improvement.Patrick Stevens, Confusion abounds in Maryland defeat; QB carousel highlights loss, The Washington Times, November 18, 2007. The following week Maryland played their regular season finale against NC State and both teams needed an additional win to attain bowl eligibility. Maryland led in the second quarter, 3–0, but was struggling offensively. Turner, a generally immobile pocket quarterback, invigorated the offense when he executed a 41-yard option run for a first down. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 206 yards and led a shutout of NC State, 37–0.Patrick Stevens, Turner in rush to play another, The Washington Times, November 25, 2007. With the sixth win, Maryland was invited to the Emerald Bowl, where they were beaten by Oregon State, 21–14.Associated Press, Oregon State's 4th straight bowl win snaps Maryland's postseason streak , ESPN, December 28, 2007. Turner finished the season as the third-most efficient passer in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).Heather Dinich, ACC position rankings: Quarterbacks , ESPN, July 11, 2008.
2008 season In 2008, Maryland hired a new offensive coordinator, James Franklin, who installed a West Coast offense.Bob Parasiliti, The Eastern Michigan litmus test, The Herald-Mail, September 19, 2008. That season started with some controversy when head coach Ralph Friedgen initially selected senior Jordan Steffy as the starting quarterback. Turner considered returning home with a transfer to a Californian school, but ultimately decided against it.Patrick Stevens, Turner remains in picture for Terps, The Washington Times, August 21, 2008.Eric Prisbell, 'A Roller Coaster, for sure', The Washington Post, September 6, 2008, retrieved December 30, 2008. When Steffy was injured again in the season-opener against Delaware, Turner was awarded the starting job for the rest of the season.Eric Detweiler, QB or not QB? , The Diamondback, August 7, 2008.Heather Dinich, Thumb injury shelves Steffy for at least several weeks, ESPN.com, September 3, 2008. After Maryland defeated 21st-ranked Wake Forest, 26–0, Turner was voted the ACC Player of the Week and ESPN named him an "On the Mark" quarterback.Heather Dinich, ACC's Players of the Week , ESPN, October 20, 2008.Mark Schlabach, On The Mark: Sizing up conference races, ESPN, October 20, 2008. Against 16th-ranked North Carolina, Turner's split-second decision to hold onto the ball for a nine-yard run on fourth down and five put the team within range for the game-winning field goal, 17–15. For that, he was nominated for the week's Pontiac Game Changing Performance.Heather Dinich, Video: Game-Changing Nominees, Week 12, ESPN, November 16, 2008. The win improved Maryland's record to 7–3 and reasserted control over their ACC championship destiny, although they lost the next game against Florida State, 37–3, which ended the Terrapins' title hopes. The following week against Boston College, Turner set career highs with 33 completions, 57 attempts, and 360 passing yards, but the effort fell short and Maryland lost, 28–21.Maryland Falls to No. 20 Boston College, 28-21 , University of Maryland, November 25, 2008. In the postseason, the Terrapins played Nevada in the Humanitarian Bowl where Turner threw for 198 yards, one interception, two touchdowns including a 59-yard long, and a two-point conversion.Maryland 42, Nevada 35, ESPN, December 30, 2008. At the end of the season, Maryland had beaten four out of their five Top 25-ranked opponents, a feat that was surpassed only by the teams in the BCS Championship Game: Florida and Oklahoma.Maryland Team Notes, Inside Slant, USA Today, retrieved December 31, 2008.
2009 season
Fifth-year senior Turner entered the 2009 season as the uncontested starter at quarterback for the first time in his career.Eric Prisbell, For Terps, 'Mature' Turner Is the Man at Quarterback, The Washington Post, p. D1 and D2, August 29, 2009. He was backed-up by sophomore Jamarr Robinson and true freshmen C. J. Brown and Danny O'Brien. Turner's seniority was called critical for the performance of the team's relatively youthful offensive line.Patrick Stevens, QB Turner's role: 'stabilizer', The Washington Times, July 28, 2009. Head coach Friedgen said, "If I had to choose between a veteran offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback, or an inexperienced line with a veteran quarterback, I think I'd go with the veteran quarterback."2009 Football Season Outlook – Part I; General overview of the Terps as well as in-depth look at the quarterback and running back positions , University of Maryland, August 3, 2009. Upon the conclusion of preseason camp, the coaching staff praised his progress, particularly his game-planning, for which he had been criticized in the past. Turner said, "Mentally, I am way further ahead than where I was last year." Physically, he dropped 16 pounds by adding muscle and losing body fat, and weighed 220 pounds before the start of the season. Offensive coordinator Franklin said, "You look at him, he was kind of mushy last year. You look at him now and he's muscular and shaped. He looks more athletic."
Before the season, Turner was added to the watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, an annual honor bestowed upon the nation's top senior quarterback.John Taylor, Johnny Unitas Watch List Announced , NBC Sports, July 16, 2009. At that time, he ranked as the school's fourth all-time quarterback in terms of completion percentage, fifth in completions, seventh in total offensive yards, and he is tied for 11th in number of touchdown passes.Jeff Barker, Chris Turner's "legacy", The Baltimore Sun, June 30, 2009. In June 2009, Turner stated that he wanted to leave a "legacy" at Maryland in his final season. He also expressed a desire to pursue a professional playing career in the National Football League (NFL) if possible.Jeff Barker, How far can Chris Turner throw?, The Baltimore Sun, July 31, 2009.
The NFL Draft Scout assessed Turner as the 16th-ranked quarterback out of the 135 available for the 2010 NFL draft and projected him as a potential seventh-round selection.
Playing style and personality