Dallas Turner shares his leadership style, advice from Will Anderson

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Thanks to his father being a sneakerhead, Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner said he has been wearing Jordan since he was born. That trend has carried over to the practice field this season as the edge rusher has been seen sporting Jordan 1 cleats.

“I try to spice it up this season,” Turner said Thursday. “It’s the last one.”

Turner has been a popular pick among not only preseason watch lists but early mock drafts for the 2024 NFL Draft. If the junior plays at a high level, the upcoming season should be his last at Alabama before he moves on to the next level. For now, though, he’s focused on 2023.

After closing out the 2021 campaign as a starter, Turner was the Crimson Tide’s first-team Sam linebacker for the duration of the 2022 season, playing in all 13 games with nine starts. He didn’t put up the same numbers as his freshman year, finishing with eight tackles for loss and only four sacks, but Turner was still impactful, finishing with more tackles (37) and hurries (9).

With Will Anderson now a Houston Texan, Turner will be Alabama’s most experienced outside linebacker and will look to improve his stats in Year 3. According to coach Nick Saban, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has been “great” in camp, which includes being more vocal.

“He’s been a really good leader,” Saban said of Turner. “He’s setting a good example. He’s worked very hard. He’s been very productive, and I think he’s just done fantastic for us.”

Turner has tried to use his experience to help the Tide’s younger players this offseason.

“Because it’s a new generation of college football now,” Turner said. “So just me having the experience I have, playing as a freshman and stuff and knowing what it takes to get to where we want to be, I can just echo that and just tell everybody. Trying to get everybody on the same page, just make sure everybody’s ready to work for the season.”

Turner spent the last two seasons playing opposite Anderson, now a starter with the Houston Texans, and he was able to learn from an eventual first-round pick every day in meetings, the practice field and everywhere in between. The two edge rushers remain in touch even though Anderson is getting ready for his rookie year while Turner leads Alabama’s OLBs.

“I talk to Will very frequently to see how his mind is working with the transition going into the big league, National Football League,” Turner said. “And honestly, the main thing he told me, to just relax. Like it’s all about football now and just don’t put so much pressure on yourself because of the type of name and all the hype you have to ‘live up to.’ Just relax and be you, and everything will fall in place.

“But yeah, Will’s transitioning very well. He made a big play against the Dolphins. It’s something you see every day in practice, so I wasn’t too surprised.”

What Turner has seen from newcomers at OLB

Turner was once a 5-star recruit, and Alabama added three of those at his same position via its 2023 signing class with Qua Russaw, Keon Keeley and Yhonzae Pierre choosing the Crimson Tide. Russaw was on campus for the spring, but Keeley and Pierre arrived earlier this summer. With that duo being new to things, Turner shared what stands out about the freshmen.

“Honestly for me, it’s probably the natural, physical ability that they both (have). They’re both very special, physical specimens with how they move, how much impact they put on the blocker. It’s just something that is good to see every day because they’re so young but they have so much potential and they don’t even know it. 

“It’s just them having to day-to-day grind, and that’s just gonna stack days and everything is gonna turn out good for them.”

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