Chip Kelly@@CE@@ has a microphone in his face.
This is nothing new for Oregon’s head football coach. He faces questions from reporters nearly every day after practice, pre- and post-game, and even during the offseason. It’s December 2010, so the media is still allowed to watch practices each morning. Kelly is used to the limelight.
But things are a little bit different this time around. Kelly is standing with his back against the gates of Autzen Stadium, a large silver “O” serving as a backdrop. His questioner stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 265 pounds. A muscle-bound, trunk-like arm extends the microphone down toward Kelly’s bemused face.
Terrell Turner@@roster: http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=233&SPSID=3378@@ is ready to ask his first question.
This is a role reversal, of course. Turner, a junior at this time, is a standout defensive end for one of the nation’s top-ranked football teams. He is usually on the other side of the microphone, playfully sparring with reporters who have come to see him as one of their go-to guys. And now, here he is, interrogating his own head coach.
“Standing here with my main man, head coach, Coach Kelly. How you doing today, Coach?”
“Doing great, Terrell.”
“Got a couple questions for you, Coach. We beat up on the offense a lot as defensive players. How has it been, you know, you guys adapting to what we’re doing to you all?”
“What are you talking about?”
They both laugh, and Turner Time featuring Chip Kelly is off to a rollicking start. For Turner, it’s just another day in a life that seamlessly blends laughter with commitment. He knows exactly where he’s going, but he does it his own way.
And always with a smile on his face.
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Opposing quarterbacks certainly aren’t smiling when they see Turner barreling toward them on the football field. The senior from Los Angeles@@profile: http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1149820&Q_SEASON=2011@@ has emerged as a key cog on the defensive line in 2011 with 37 tackles — including six for a loss — and 3.5 sacks.@@see previous@@

Last Saturday, in arguably the biggest game of the year against then-No. 3 Stanford,@@goducks says No. 3 (ncaa): http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=233&SPSID=3377, but BCS is four. not sure which one to go with@@ Turner was at the center of one of the night’s key plays. Andrew Luck@@CE@@ dropped back from his own 31-yard line on the first play of a Stanford drive with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter.@@box score: http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/433907.HTM?ATCLID=205332480&SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ Oregon led 29-16,@@see previous@@ and the Cardinal had to get something after forcing a rare Oregon punt.
Turner would have none of that.
As soon as Luck snapped the ball, Turner burst into the pocket virtually unblocked and leveled the quarterback from his blind side. The ball came loose and, after a few bounces, fellow defensive end Brandon Hanna@@CE@@ grabbed it.
The Cardinal would never recover.
Turner Time, as Luck found out, can be interpreted in two different ways. Sometimes he’ll be mugging for the cameras, making faces at teammates as they are interviewed after practice. And then there are those on-field explosions, when the joke is on the opposing team.
Either way, Turner will be laughing the whole time.
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It’s funny, really, because Terrell Turner never expected to be a football player growing up. He didn’t even start playing the game until his freshman year of high school, when he picked it up to prove a point to his older brother. Three years Terrell’s senior, the elder Turner played football at Crenshaw High School. He claimed to be better than Terrell, and the fuse was lit.
“He wasn’t even that good,” Turner says. “So I came out and ended up being way better than him. I’m glad he dared me to play.”
He started his career at defensive end, but moved around to offensive line and even tight end. He played a little bit of linebacker, too, and made enough of an impression on Crenshaw head coach Robert Garrett@@http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/09/sports/la-sp-1210-old-city-coach-20101210@@ that he made it a point to find Turner a scholarship.
“If you listen to me,” Garrett said, “I could potentially get you into college.”
Turner did, and Garrett followed through, singing his praises to recruiters who visited the school.
“Next thing I know,” Turner says, “I receive a couple scholarships.”
One of those offers came from Oregon, and Turner headed up to Eugene for an official visit. Linebacker Spencer Paysinger@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=529217@@ was his official host, and the two Los Angeles natives bonded quickly.
“He came and took care of business,” Turner says. “We was chillin’. He’s from L.A., I’m from L.A., and I just had a lot of fun out here, and it was a family atmosphere, so that’s what happened.
“I chose the Ducks.”
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And so there he was, three years later, sticking a microphone in his head coach’s face. The segment — which continued along the same whimsical path it started on and ended with a five-step handshake — was aired by KEZI and, months later, Turner scored a summer internship at the local news station.
“I took it and ran with it,” Turner says. “I interned there to find out the background of the whole media prospect and everything. And I liked it, so I’m trying to pursue after that whenever I’m done with football.”
He’s made a career from the art of pursuit, after all, and has proven to be a natural in front of the camera. Unlike some of his teammates, he never clams up under the bright lights, and even coins new phrases from time to time (“physical-er” being the latest after the Stanford game).
“He’s really funny,” Hanna says. “He’s really outgoing, he’s got a great sense of humor — I could see him being on TV, definitely.”
It wasn’t a presence he built up over time. For Turner, it all comes naturally.
“I just like to be myself,” he says. “And some people think that I have good quotes, but I just be myself.”
And then he laughs again.
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Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti@@CE@@ calls Turner a “self-made guy.” He came in as a linebacker, and immediately found himself relegated to the trenches of the defensive line. He majored in family and human services, and now he’s crafting a career for himself in the broadcasting world.
So whenever football comes to an end, and his relentless pursuit of opposing quarterbacks is finally halted, another quest will begin. The lights above the field will be replaced by flash bulbs, or the little red light that flicks to life when the video cameras are turned on.
The Terrell Turner Show will begin in 3 … 2 … 1.