Cal Football Video: Trey Turner III Earns Justin Wilcox's Admiration

Coach understands the road Turner has traveled was not always easy, but appreciates the senior safety's determination

Cal senior safety Trey Turner III had plenty of chances to bail on his time at Berkeley.

He dealt with injuries, a coaching change, and more recently a defensive backs room whose talent level makes it tough to find a spot on the field.

But Turner, a 23-year-old native of Mobile, Alabama, didn't give up on himself or the Golden Bears. He's now in his fifth year at Cal and a key reserve in a defensive secondary considered one of the best in the nation.

“He’s a determined guy and he hasn’t wavered in that. It’s not always easy. There’s tough days, whether it’s school or practice," Wilcox said. "Not probably getting as many reps, last year for example, he would have liked or maybe deserves in some regard. Sometimes when you have a room like that, that’s so so deep, the reps are tough to come by. 

"For him to stick it out and compete like he has is really impressive. It speaks to him as an individual.”

(Click here for a video of Turner telling his story.)

In addition to seeing action at safety, Turner has become a significant contributor on special teams. That's not overlooked by Wilcox.

“He takes a lot of pride in it," Wilcox said. "Big plays . . . I’m thinking back to some games making open-field tackles on punt (coverage). Those are huge plays. They don’t always show up in the stat sheet, but this last (Oregon) game when we didn’t do it a couple times, the field position flips. 

"He’s done a nice job of that and he’s tuned in in meetings. It speaks to his commitment to the team and what he’s done the last couple years of carving out a niche. And they earn a lot of respect that way when they do that.”