WR D.J. Turner will look for space at a crowded position for Maryland football

Maryland football starts its season in 20 days. Until then, we're profiling every player on the roster in our Profiles in Terpage series.

DJ Turner, wide receiver

Height: 5’9
Weight: 196 pounds
Year: Freshman
High School: DeMatha Catholic (Md.)
Jersey No.: 10

How he got to College Park

Turner was part of the DeMatha Catholic High School (Md.) contingent that committed to Maryland in the class of 2016, joining Terrance Davis, Tino Ellis and Lorenzo Harrison. Turner was the No. 14 player in Maryland and the No. 61 wide receiver in the class of 2016, according to the 247Sports Composite.

He committed to Maryland in January of 2015, the second DeMatha prospect and third player overall to join the Terps’ class. Turner suffered his second major leg injury in three years when he fractured his tibia in DeMatha’s season opener last August. He would be done for the season, but then-Maryland head coach Randy Edsall called Turner and assured him that his scholarship wasn’t in jeopardy.

Turner’s pledge came under question in January when Syracuse.com reported that he was taking an official visit to Syracuse, but he never flipped to the Orange, tweeting that he was “100% committed to Maryland.”

High school highlights

2016 prospectus

As a true freshman at a deep wide receiver position, Turner could be fighting with as many as 10 guys, including high school teammate Tino Ellis, to see the field. That could mean he redshirts his first year with the program. He’ll no doubt be a part of Maryland’s future in the passing game, but he might have to wait until 2017 to start catching passes in front of fans at Maryland Stadium.

Then again, playing time for Turner isn’t out of the question for 2016. He’ll have to surpass some guys on the depth chart, but wide receiver is a position that could see five different players get snaps in a single game, so it’s possible Turner becomes one of those five guys.

What a dream season would look like

Turner shows some explosiveness while practicing Walt Bell’s screen-heavy offense in fall camp, and carves out a role for himself as a reliable, speedy threat.

Next in the series...

No one! Profiles in Terpage is finished until next summer.

Standings

Reborn579 ran away with it this year. Congratulations, Reborn, on your undying commitment. You don’t win any tangible prize, but you have our admiration.

Reborn579-13
PeachesTerp-9
Testudbro-5
apgibson24-5
Scaletta-4
jayman88-4
TerpDonkey-4
ImFromMarylandAndNobodyCanBeatMe-4
MurderlandBoy-4
jgoldy17-4
terpcommenter-2
amaymon27-2
RedTurtle-2
HughGR-2
ezra2141-1
Mr. Papageorgeo-1
Carolina-1
PMatt-1
EricPat-1
Cyfi98-1
terps150-1
AZDesertTurtle-1
TnTerp-1