Christian Turner, Ex-Wolverine

Tag: Christian Turner


19Dec 2020
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Christian Turner, Ex-Wolverine

Christian Turner (image via Toledo Blade)

Redshirt sophomore running back Christian Turner announced on Saturday that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Turner came to Michigan from Buford (GA) Buford in 2018. He was a 3-star, the #22 running back, and #508 overall. He notched 20 carries for 95 yards and 1 catch for 16 yards as a freshman; then he had 44 carries for 171 yards and 1 touchdown, plus 4 catches for 13 yards, in 2019. He initially opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID concerns but then re-joined the team, though he was relegated to special teams.

I gave Turner a TTB Rating out of high school (LINK), but every class since then has included a better prospect. And it doesn’t help that Turner’s classmate, Hassan Haskins, has outplayed his ranking and taken over the primary role at Michigan.

Michigan couldn’t find room for Turner to play in a deep backfield in 2020, and that’s unlikely to change in 2021. Turner will get more of an opportunity to touch the ball somewhere else. Usually, players transfer somewhere closer to home, so I would expect him to resurface somewhere down south, perhaps in the ACC or the Sun Belt.

Here’s the 2021 scholarship count with Turner removed (LINK), as well as Jalen Mayfield (NFL) and Zach Carpenter (transfer).

27Jun 2020
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2020 Season Countdown: #74 Christian Turner

Christian Turner (image via Toledo Blade)

Name: Christian Turner
Height:
5’11”
Weight:
200 lbs.
High school:
Buford (GA) Buford
Position:
Running back
Class:
Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number:
#32
Last year:
I ranked Turner #34 and said he would be a backup running back (LINK). He ran the ball 44 times for 171 yards (3.9 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown.
TTB Rating:
78

Turner showed a couple flashes of excitement in 2018 and then had a very ho-hum second year on campus. Despite a much improved offensive line over recent years, he finished two games with negative rushing yards, and his best days were 49 and 48 yards against Middle Tennessee and Rutgers, respectively, each on 11 carries.

This season there aren’t many carries up for grabs, as sophomore Zach Charbonnet and redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins return. Oh, and so does fifth year senior Chris Evans (5.7 career yards/carry) after a one-year suspension for some academic issues. That’s not to mention Under Armour All-American freshman Blake Corum. Whether Turner is ahead of Corum on the depth chart or not, neither one appears likely to be higher than #4 on the depth chart. While the #3/#4 guys tied with 44 carries each in 2019 (Turner and Tru Wilson), the next highest total for a running back was Ben Van Sumeren with 9 attempts.

Prediction: Backup running back

1Sep 2019
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Michigan 40, Middle Tennessee 21

Zach Charbonnet (image via Detroit News)

There’s a lot that we could get into with the new offense, so I think it might be best to just go position-by-position on that side of the ball.

The two-quarterback thing needs to be nixed. Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis are probably trying to make Dylan McCaffrey happy by putting him on the field with Shea Patterson, but it’s a bad move. The offense isn’t in sync when both are on the field. Whoever’s behind center is late getting the play off, and then they threw an inside screen to McCaffrey, who was immediately swarmed under by big guys. Why put your lanky backup QB in a situation where he catches a ball three yards away from 250+ pound defensive linemen and linebackers?

Hit the jump for more.

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