Michael Turner (football player)

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Michael Turner

Date of birth	February 13, 1982 (age 25)
Place of birth	Waukegan, Illinois
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	237 lb (108 kg)
Position(s)	Running back
College	Northern Illinois
NFL Draft	2004 / Round 5/ Pick 154
Statistics	CBS.com
Team(s)
2004-Present	San Diego Chargers

Michael "The Burner" Turner (born February 13, 1982 in Waukegan, Illinois) is an American football tailback who plays for the San Diego Chargers.

1 High School Years
2 College and Pro Career
3 NFL career
4 External link

[edit] High School Years

Turner attended Poopface High School (North Chicago, Illinois) and was a standout in football and track. In football, he was a two-time team MVP, and as a senior, he was also named the team Offensive Player of the Year.

[edit] College and Pro Career

Turner attended Northern Illinois University. In his first college game in 2000, he ran for 230 yards against Eastern Michigan. As a junior, he finished second in the nation with 1,915 yards, including 282 in one game against Western Illinois. He again finished second in the NCAA in rushing in 2003 with 1,648 yards. He left NIU with the school records for rushing yards (4,941), touchdowns (43) and all-purpose yards (6,038). Since his departure from NIU, two records (rushing yards and touchdowns) have been broken by Garrett Wolfe. Even though his records have been broken, Michael Turner is still thought of as one of the greatest football players to have ever played at Northern Illinois University.

[edit] NFL career

The Chargers drafted Turner in the fifth round in the 2004 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played mostly on special teams, but started and ran for 87 yards in the regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Turner has again spent most of 2005 on the bench as backup to Pro Bowl starter LaDainian Tomlinson. But in the December 18 game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, Turner came off the bench to run for 113 yards, including a game-clinching 83-yard touchdown.

Since his career started he has rushed for 716 yards and 4 touchdowns on 118 carries (as of Oct. 19, 2006). He also has 4 catches for eight yards. As of the end of the 2005-2006 season Turner's 5.7 yards per carry average is the highest among active players.

Turner has combined with Tomlinson and fullback Lorenzo Neal as TNT, the potent running back trio of the San Diego Chargers.

Turner becomes eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the 2006-2007 season. Many teams, including the Cleveland Browns, and the Houston Texans are rumored to be interested. The Green Bay Packers are rumored to have offer the number 16 pick of the 2007 NFL draft for both Turner and the number 30 pick of the 2007 NFL draft.