Welcome to Gator Nation, Asa Turner! Photo credit: M. Samek, 247Sports
The Gators just gained a massive boost for their secondary.
Former Washington Huskies safety Asa Turner committed to Florida late Thursday night after entering the NCAA transfer portal. Turner, who will be a sixth-year senior with a single year of eligibility, marks the Gators’ fourth portal addition in the secondary, joining former Tulane safety DJ Douglas and former Oregon corner Trikweze Bridges. Technically, Alabama cornerback signee Jameer Grimsley was a portal addition, even though he’ll be a true freshman with four years of eligibility.
On top of the portal additions, Florida also signed a trio of defensive backs from the high school ranks: Teddy Foster, Josiah Davis, and Gregory Smith.
The addition of Asa Turner sets up a reunion in Gainesville with former Washington, now Florida defensive backs coach Will Harris, who recruited Turner to Washington and then coached him from 2019-2021.
Although Turner was hurt for most of the Huskies’ 2023 season, he returned and played in the games that mattered most. He took the field for the Huskies’ Pac-12 Championship win over Oregon, national semifinal win over Texas, and national championship game loss to Michigan. He also started 25 additional games for the Huskies scattered about his five years there, including one as a true freshman in 2019.
Turner is more than just a super senior journeyman, though. When he’s been on the field, he makes plays. In his career, he’s picked off six passes, broken up two more, and recovered a fumble. He’s also accumulated a total of 148 tackles, 52 of which came in 2022.
The sixth year of eligibility comes due to a technicality. Every college athlete got a blanket eligibility waiver in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Turner only played in four regular season games in 2023 due to injury. The fact that he played three postseason games for a total of seven games on the season didn’t matter; the NCAA rule states that a player can play in up to four regular season games in one year without it counting against his eligibility.
