'Relentless' Rams Rookie Kobie Turner 'Only Going to Get Better'
The Los Angeles Rams have a lot of new faces as they're in the midst of what general manager Les Snead dubbed a "remodel" earlier this offseason.
With many key cogs of Los Angeles' Super Bowl team now playing elsewhere, there are plenty of opportunities for new names to arise - and so far, one rookie doing exactly that is defensive tackle Kobie Turner.
Drafted in the third round out of Wake Forest, Turner has drawn praise from several throughout the Rams' building, including coach Sean McVay and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
During the pre-draft process, Turner (6-2, 288 pounds) drew stylistic comparisons to Donald (6-1, 280 pounds) due to their relatively small but quick skill sets and ability to generate pressure from the interior.
And thus far, Turner has proven that he's more than capable of growing into a productive professional player, with McVay noting just how hard he plays while assessing his performance in the aftermath of last Saturday's 34-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the preseason opener.
“With Kobie, I thought he did a really good job as the game went on," McVay said. "He only got 20 snaps, but he's a guy that plays with the relentless motor and effort, understands the techniques and the fundamentals that (defensive line coach) Eric Henderson and (asst. defensive line coach) AC Carter are teaching and think he's only going to get better."
McVay added that both Turner and rookie outside linebacker Byron Young are guys the Rams will be counting on moving forward and he feels the preseason presents a strong opportunity for learning experiences as they work to get up to speed prior to the start of the regular season.
But fortunately for the young defenders, they have a valuable presence to learn from inside the locker room in Donald - although Turner started studying his veteran counterpart long ago,
Turner told Heavy during OTAs that he watched film of Donald during his time in college and tried to emulate his hand usage, arsenal and the manner in which he uses natural leverage to his advantage.
The result? An impressive start to Turner's professional career that drew unprompted praise from Donald, who noted the former Wake Forest star when asked about young defensive line standouts during camp.
"Kobie is having his flashes," Donald said.
The Rams have high hopes for Turner; they wouldn't have drafted him at No. 89 overall if there wasn't a level of confidence in his skill set, and his strong start throughout training camp and the preseason has only bolstered that feeling.
Now, the challenge for Turner becomes turning those "flashes" into consistent impact plays - but with both McVay and Donald in his corner, that goal may be achieved sooner rather than later.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @ByDanielFlick
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rams? Click Here
Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Ram Digest message board community today!
Follow Ram Digest on Twitter and Facebook.
Want even more L.A. Rams news? Check out the SI.com team page here.
