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Savannah, Ga., is the cobblestones that pave River Street, the oak trees that have lived nearly four centuries, and a city that was left virtually untouched after the Civil War and then gifted to Abraham Lincoln. It also was the training ground for a 6-year-old Calvin Turner, who sprinted away from the neighborhood kids in two-hand-touch football and was never “It” in tag.
“My parents said I was always very energetic, running around, bouncing off walls,” Turner said. “As a kid, you find any game to play. Anything we could create to play, we were going to do it.”
Turner’s speed, elusiveness and creativity have transcended into a multi-purpose role with the Rainbow Warriors. Last year, Turner was used as a running back, slotback, wideout, wildcat quarterback and kickoff returner.
He scored 11 touchdowns in nine games in his first UH season after transferring from Jacksonville. In July, he was named to the Mountain West’s preseason first team as a punt returner, a position he did not play last year but will this season.
Turner’s video-game numbers should not be surprising. “I used to play NCAA (video game) a lot,” said Turner, who preferred the road-to-glory mode. In that format, he played a high school season, then a college season (with a chance to win the Heisman Trophy). “You can create your own player,” he said. “I used to do that all the time. My favorite player ever was Reggie Bush.”
As a USC running back, Bush was a two-time All-American who won the Heisman. “USC’s night games were shown super late on the East Coast,” Turner recalled. “I would stay up all night to watch him play. When he got to the NFL with the Saints, I still watched him all the time.”
Turner tried to pattern his game after Bush’s, with the quick-cut jukes and accelerated routes. At New Hempstead High, Turner was a dual-threat quarterback in a triple-option offense. Jacksonville ran the same schemes. When Jacksonville opted to drop the football program after the 2019 season, Turner entered the transfer portal.
In the recruiting pitch, the UH coaches told Turner he had the same play-making skills as slotback John Ursua, a former Warrior who also was a triple-option quarterback in high school. “He was used to playing in a nine-man box, and making people miss, and scoring,” Turner said of Ursua.
Todd Graham, who was hired as UH’s head coach in January 2020, decided Turner best fit … everywhere.
“He thought I could help the team in many different ways,” Turner said.
As a visual learner with a photographic memory, Turner easily grasps his roles. “Once I look at a play, I can go out and do it,” he said. “That’s the way I learn. If I’m studying for a test, I read (the material) and after I write it down, I pretty much got it down.”
SCOUTING REPORT
During a 30-year coaching career, Todd Graham developed physical defenses, then applied that defensive mentality to the offense. That meant establishing a ground game that was snarling at any point on the field. While the top backs — Calvin Turner, Dae Dae Hunter, Dedrick Parson — have around-the-corner speed, they also are expected to navigate through the A and B gaps.
The backs have worked on cross training, allowing them to bleed into the flats or align wide s receivers or jet sweepers. Dior Scott and James Phillips are converted receivers who often will set up in the backfield.
Last year, the Warriors rotated several 3-backs, the hybrid players who serve as fullbacks, H-backs or tight ends. Two transfers — Caleb Phillips (Stanford) and Solo Turner (Baylor) — are making the move from linebacker to tight end. They will provide extra blocking in the backfield, on the line or wide to seal the perimeters.
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