Evaluating Alabama Commit, SI All-American 2021 DE Dallas Turner

One major domino that fell on the recruiting trail for the University of Alabama in the 2021 cycle was elite defensive end Dallas Turner, who pledged to the Crimson Tide back in July.

"What stood out to me was the amount of greatness that their players put up," Turner told Bama Central earlier in the year. "They send so many players to the league. I like how they develop their guys into great men too."

He chose coach Nick Saban's program over the likes of Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Florida State, Michigan, and Oklahoma, among others.

As a junior at American Heritage high School in Plantation, Fla., he led the team in sacks with 15, racked up 74 tackles, and 18 tackles for loss on his way to earning Sports Illustrated All-American candidate honors for his senior year.

This past offseason he transferred to St. Thomas Aquinas, a place where current Alabama defenders Patrick Surtain II, Jordan Battle and Braylen Ingraham are products of.

Turner's senior campaign started back in the middle of October and he recorded four sacks in the season opener.

Alabama commit Dallas Turner was a monster Friday. He had four sacks in a win. pic.twitter.com/hDJhxfqwqL
— Andrew Ivins (@Andrew_Ivins) October 17, 2020

On the year, the 6-foot-3, 225 pound has 18 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, nine sacks, four forced fumbles, and one passes defended.

Check out SIAA's evaluation of the talented pass rusher the Crimson Tide is getting:

Prospect: DE Dallas Turner

Projected Position: Edge

Status: SI All-American candidate

Vitals: 6-foot-3, 225 pounds

School: Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas

Committed to: Alabama

Frame: Shoulders are fairly wide with long arms, big hands and promising chest. Athletic lower-half with solid thickness in thighs and hips.

Athleticism: Long with good twitch to his first step and vertical track. Flexible on edge and possesses good sinkage and bendability. Good torso rotation to influence hips to corner, as well as offer quick change of direction to hunt and chase versus run. Flashes heavy hands and strength at the point when he brings his hips and feet through man.

Instincts: Very good mental processing and eye discipline. Quickly finds mesh points and doesn’t panic versus playside pulls or misdirection. Alert to not overrun launch points as a pass-rusher. Plays with good range and exceptional effort in chase phase.

Polish: Currently plays with his hand down as a traditional 5 and 7-technique RDE in a 4-man front. Has also seen time at 4i in odd/tight fronts. Will work out of a 4-point stance some. Likes to use a longarm stab, as well speed-to-power to pressure passers. Also will use a spin versus short-setters. Must become more consistent at setting the edge versus playside reach and base blocks in the run game. Effort and range make up for adequate hand tempo when shedding versus run.

Bottom Line: With his snap quickness, flexibility and ability to bend, Turner has the potential to develop into a fine pass-rusher at the next level. He generates enough body force to take advantage of soft shoulders in the entry phase of a rush, plus he plays with great effort and hustle when pursuing the ball. While his athleticism offers a foundation to be developed as a coverage defender as a Jack ‘backer in a 3-4 base alignment, Turner currently fits best with his hand down as a single C-gap DE in a defensive scheme with a 4-man front with some gap reduction and exchange principles.

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