Back Burner
Lynn Wloszek
Michael Turner is no longer a faceless name buried on a football depth chart.
The Northern Illinois running back is a marked man, one who wears a metaphorical bull’s-eye on his No. 32 jersey.
That suits the senior just fine.
“I’m not surprising anyone anymore,” said Turner, who leads the MAC with 557 rushing yards in five games. “That just tells me I’m doing my job.”
Not bad for someone who wasn’t even the featured running back on his high school team. NIU coach Joe Novak said he wasn’t sure if Turner would fit in his rebuilding scheme when recruiting the North Chicago native.
“I looked at five tapes to get enough courage to offer him a scholarship,” Novak said. “We took a chance when we signed him.”
Novak’s gamble has produced one of the best running backs to come through the MAC.
“I think Mike can play for anybody in the country,” he said.
Turner’s success stems from his 6-feet 230-pound linebacker frame. At first glance, he looks chunky and slow.
However, opponents realize his speed is deceptive.
“It’s still hard to believe a kid that big can possess that type of speed,” NIU running backs coach DeAndre Smith said. “He is gifted genetically.”
Turner has been clocked running a 4.41 40-yard dash, which helped him set the MAC single season rushing record of 1,915 yards.
“I run so smooth,” Turner said. “I learned that from running track in high school.”
Turner’s repeated success hasn’t ballooned his ego.
“Talking isn’t going to help me get anymore yards,” he said.
Smith said Turner has always been quiet, letting his play do all the talking.
“We’ve been trying for years to get him to be more vocal but he goes out and shows by example,” Smith said.
His leadership this season contributed to a 5-0 start and a No. 16 ranking in the AP Top 25.
Speed kills
Most speed backs tend to be east/west runners, preferring to run sideline-to-sideline instead of downfield. Turner said he likes to find seams in the offensive line, but will cut outside when needed.
“He’s a downhill kind of guy,” Smith said. “He has that ability to get to the edge.”
When Turner bounces outside, he is nearly impossible to catch. Most defenders are left behind in a futile pursuit. This breakaway speed has earned Turner the nickname, “The Burner.”
“He’s a real thick, physical kid. He’s not a dancer,” Novak said. “The longer he runs the faster he gets.
“His second 50 (yards) is better than his first.”
While his quickness separates him from the pack, it’s his power that makes him elite.
“When he gets through the line of scrimmage he erases pursuit angles,” CMU coach Mike DeBord said. “He’s a tough running back too. He’s not afraid to punch it in there. He’ll try to run you over now.”
CMU’s defense has the difficult task of containing Turner Saturday, after surrendering 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns to him last season.
“Our guys up front are going to have to get off blocks,” DeBord said. “If you stay blocked, you’re not going to stop him.”
Ohio disrupted NIU’s running game last weekend by stacking nine linemen in the box. Turner was held to a season-low 43 yards on 15 carries, proving he can be stopped.
“If teams want to put enough people in the box they’re going to stop him,” Novak said. “We can’t block them all.
“With all the preseason hype Mike has gotten teams have that goal to shut him down.”
Head on a swivel
Awareness of ones’ surroundings can be a factor separating good backs from great ones. Finding the right hole in the offensive line has to be a split-second decision, Turner said.
“There’s 11 guys trying to tackle you, so you got to always see the hole build,” he said.
Turner’s vision helps him detect and block blitzing linebacker’s or safeties, a quality that gets lost amongst his other talents.
“That’s the one thing he doesn’t get a lot of credit for,” Smith said.
Turner doesn’t have an array of moves to escape tacklers, but has the awareness and movement to make people to miss, Novak said.
“People tend to take the wrong angle on me. It all depends at what angle (defenders) are coming at me,” Turner said. “I just try to break the tackle and do whatever it takes to help my team win.
“I want to be recognized as a complete running back — not one-dimensional.”
A bright future?
Turner set high goals when he came to NIU in 2000, goals that may of seemed unreasonable for anybody but the running back.
“One of my goals was to be known as the greatest ever that walked on NIU’s campus,” he said.
Now, with graduation lingering in the foreground, Turner is eyeing an NFL career.
“He’s still learning the game but he’s going to get a real good look (from the NFL),” Novak said.
But for now, the humble, laid-back Turner is focusing on a MAC Championship.
“Every good player feels they can’t be stopped no matter a team does,” Turner said. “I’m just going to play hard every week and the numbers will come.”
