Keeping the Faith: Michael Turk’s unlikely return to Tempe

Following ASU’s 20-14 victory in the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl over Florida State in El Paso, Sun Devil punter Michael Turk pondered over his options.

Turk, in his second year at ASU after redshirting in 2018, had put together a masterclass of a season in 2019, earning All-Conference first-team honors and breaking multiple Sun Devil records. However, ASU’s “golden leg” had his sights set on a career that went beyond the confines of college football. He wanted to join the family business. He wanted to go to the National Football League.

Turk hails from a rich bloodline of NFL veterans.

His father, Tony, played college football at Iowa State as a tight end and eventually played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but due to injuries, he was unable to find a lasting career in the NFL.

Turk’s uncles, Dan and Matt, played 14 and 17 years in the pros, respectively. Dan, a center and long snapper began his career in 1985 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matt began his career in 1995 with the Washington Redskins after failing to make a final NFL roster in the two years prior. In 1997, Dan would sign with Washington as a long snapper, uniting with his youngest brother. The duo became the first brother-to-brother snapper-punter combination in league history.

His older brother, Ben, punted at Notre Dame from 2009 to 2012. His final collegiate contest came in the 2013 BCS National Championship against Alabama. Ben went on to play in the Alliance of American Football for the Orlando Apollos before the league filed for bankruptcy.

Turk retreated to be with his uncle Matt in Houston, Texas after the 2019 season, and the pair considered the young punter’s choices. On Jan. 6, Turk announced his decision on Twitter, posting a picture of himself next to his message.

The post closed with a verse from the Bible, Proverbs 16:3, which states: “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

Turk, now a devout Christian who relies on his faith and relationship with God for motivation and drive had entered a new chapter on life. Guided by his faith and commitment, Turk dove into his craft of punting with his uncle, a valuable asset who guided the then redshirt-sophomore down the path of creating a pro career.

“He was relaying to me what the advantages of waiting (were) and what’s the advantage of (going pro) now. We were both on the same page in terms of, we had a few months to train together, and if we were super focused, I could try to make the league (in 2020),” Turk explained. “He was awesome for me to live with then too, so I knew I was going to have a good setup in terms of my training, and I knew I had a good enough reason to get looked at and have that opportunity (of going pro).”

Living in Houston with his uncle wasn’t unfamiliar territory to Turk, as he had moved to southeast Texas to play football at Ridge Point High School in Missouri City, a south-central suburb of Houston. Turk played safety for the Panthers, contributing to the 6A Regional Championship teams in 2014 and 2015. Turk’s time in the Houston suburbs was plagued by knee injuries, with three ACL tears in less than three years.

During this time plagued by injuries, the teenage Turk found himself without a purpose in his life. His dreams of playing safety at the next level had been dashed. Confused and hurt, he turned himself over to his religion and asked God to save him.

“I was like, ’Alright what am I really living for?’ And then that’s when I asked God to save me,” Turk explained. “I realized that I’m a creation, I’ve only been alive for 16 years, I knew I wasn’t the center of attention for the world. So, I knew I had to talk to God, and then thankfully, the Lord saved me, and I started reading the Bible.”

Turk found an inkling for the scriptures of the Bible, and through time, the messages and words of Christianity helped clear the mental storm clouds and fog that had shrouded Turk’s future and outlook on life.

After graduating from Ridge Point, Turk took a gap year and moved to Dallas to live with his brother Ben. Turk had decided to pursue his uncle’s footsteps and began training with his brother to become a punter.

“My brother offered me to live with him for a gap year, and that was definitely my first time punting,” Turk described. “During that gap year, I knew right away in my heart that (punting) was what I wanted to do. That was my first loving memory towards football.”

Yes, you read that correctly. Turk didn’t punt a single ball during his time with Ridge Point or beforehand. He didn’t pick up the skill until moving to Dallas under the tutelage of his oldest brother.

Turk worked tirelessly during his gap year, learning the trade's ins and outs while also focusing on his physical shape and academic abilities. Turk put in hours at a local gym training and working out and also focused on improving his ACT score.

In an effort to grab attention from college coaches, Turk set up an account on a website called Next College Student Athlete, which allows student-athletes to be discovered. Turk’s personal statement on the account outlined his goals at the time in a brief, yet strong manner:

“I am determined to be a collegiate punter at the Division I level. My uncle Matt Turk punted in the NFL for 19 years, and my brother Ben Turk punted at Notre Dame for 4 years. I am motivated to have a lasting punting career as well, and I work hard every day to perfect my craft. I also value academics strongly, and I got a 33 on the ACT.”

Turk and his older brother continued to train in Dallas while the pair also took occasional trips back to Houston to hone Michael’s skills under the guidance of his much more experienced uncle. As his punting skills began to sprout, the group of Turks started to film his workouts, sending the videos, which were filmed on an iPhone, to any college coach who was willing to watch them.

“I was journaling out my practices and then also trying to reach out to so many different coaches. (So was Ben) because (he) is really good with networking too,” Turk said of the process. “He was able to figure out all of the different coaches’ emails, and we were just sending out emails and YouTube film.”

Eventually, Turk got his long-awaited opportunity to punt at an FCS school in Pennsylvania, Lafayette, on a partial scholarship.

At Lafayette, Turk made an immediate impact at punter, setting a single-season school record for punting average with 42.7 yards per attempt. Flourishing in his time at the FCS school, Turk began to realize that his dream of playing Division I Football was achievable after all. Turk received All-Patriot League Second-Team Honors in 2017 and began fielding calls from Oregon, Texas A&M, and Iowa. However, every school was hesitant to pull the trigger on the novice yet skilled punter.

However, Turk’s plan continued to fold out smoothly in front of him. Eventually, a call from his uncle’s former coach with the New York Jets came. Now the head coach at ASU, Herm Edwards, and the ASU staff expressed interest in Turk’s abilities, an interest that eventually turned into a scholarship offer.

“Once ASU offered me, it was a no-brainer,” Turk admitted.

On August 29, 2019, Turk suited up in ASU’s iconic maroon and gold jerseys for the first time. Due to transfer rules, the punter had redshirted in 2018. Now ASU’s starting punter, Turk, ran past the statue of Pat Tillman into the roaring coliseum of Sun Devil Stadium on a hot August Saturday evening.

That night, Turk’s right foot turned into a trebuchet, catapulting five punts for an average of 63 yards per punt. In his first appearance as a Sun Devil, Turk had broken an NCAA record for highest average yards per punt with a minimum of five attempts.

He had made it.

***

In the final week of this February, Turk was given the opportunity to showcase his skills to NFL scouts at the 2020 NFL Combine. The 22 -year-old Turk performed well during the essential drills portion, particularly so on the bench press, which is a rare feat for punters due to the little impact the drill has on their position.

Nevertheless, Turk stepped up to the rack and shocked scouts and onlookers with an impressive 25 reps of 225 pounds. Turk, who weighed 226 pounds at the time, put up more reps than all of his ASU football teammates present the combine. OL Cohl Cabral had 20 reps, but Turk’s 25 were more than Eno Benjamin (12) and Brandon Aiyuk (11) had combined.

However, the success of Turk was short-lived. During his skills portion of the combine where he displayed his punting, he underperformed.

“I just didn’t have my best day punting,” Turk described. “I was maybe overswinging and not being smooth and compact with my steps, (I was) almost trying too hard.”

Turk, who had high hopes of being the first punter in the family to be drafted, did not hear his name called during the three days of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In between Turk’s combine appearance and the draft, COVID-19 had run rampant on the country, canceling school and athletics at all levels. ASU’s Pro Day was canceled along with multiple NFL team workouts, effectively thwarting Turk’s hopes of reaching an NFL roster in 2020.

As he had done after the 2019 season, Turk found shelter from his struggles with his uncle in Houston. The 2020 NFL Draft came and went during the final week of April. Turk’s name was not called.

“After the draft came and I didn’t get drafted, I was a little bit worried. Worried in terms of ‘What’s the next step?’ because there was a very good possibility that I’m not playing (in the pros in 2020),” Turk said.

In response, the now free agent punter reached out to the place he had made his name, Arizona State. Turk and ASU’s Athletics Compliance staff formulated a plan. A case to get Turk back in maroon and gold.

Turk was instructed by the Director of Athletics Compliance, Justin Pollnow, to list out the reasons why he deserved to have his eligibility reinstated.

Turk and the compliance team, with help from Special Teams Coach, Shawn Slocum, drafted an appeal to the NCAA, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on punters, and how they were the most negatively affected by the opportunities which were canceled due to the virus.

Turk’s waiver request was the first of its kind, requesting that a player who declared for the draft and signed with an agent, could return to school due to the events that have been dictated by COVID-19.

On June 3, Turk was practicing his drops on the basketball court, perfecting his sequence and rhythm as he’s done many times before. He received a call from Pollnow, who greeted Turk by asking if he was sitting down. Turk interpreted Pollnow’s greeting as bad news but braved the storm and waited to hear what the compliance director had to say. Turk’s patience was rewarded with the news of his reinstatement.

“I was just super thankful, I started thanking God, thanking Justin for all the help,” Turk said, describing his reaction. “Right when I had the idea (to apply for reinstatement and return to ASU), I knew that was what I wanted to do. I know I was the first person to (appeal in that manner) and once you’re on the other side, it definitely makes you appreciate how well you’re treated when you’re in college with the food, structure, scholarship, and practice…I was really hoping I got to go back (to ASU).”

Turk trained during the summer back in Houston with his uncle, refining his punting skills at the 17-year-veteran’s home gym and a local field that remained open throughout the pandemic. With his college career set to resume, Turk’s training regimen hardly changed during the offseason.

“The only thing that changed when I found out I was going back to college was I just changed back (to training with) a college football,” Turk noted. “Nothing changed except switching the ball bag and setting my mind to playing against USC, or whoever the first was going to be (against).”

Since returning to ASU, Turk has put a lot of time into his YouTube channel, Hangtime, where he posts regular videos about his ASU football experience, fitness, and his faith. The punter is also studying to receive a degree in liberal studies and is considering a master’s degree in digital media.

Now back in maroon and gold, Turk’s goals have shifted. While he still wishes to reach the NFL; his mindset switched from a big-picture objective of going pro, to a current-minded outlook that includes winning a Pac-12 Championship and being the best punter possible.

“I am coming in with the expectation to be more brilliant at my highest level, and it’s my third season now,” Turk said. “I’m thankful for the two seasons I’ve had, I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and I’m excited to hopefully, be able to show that every game and be dialed in and take advantage of this time.”

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