LOGAN, Utah — Zion Turner came to UConn with a vision. He had been a winner, in a big way, at a high school where losing is not on the curriculum, and he didn’t plan to learn about losing in college.
Turner knew the recent history, and he ran toward it.
“The challenge,” Turner said, during a preseason practice. “Every player doesn’t get to come and change program and turn a whole program around.”
Even fewer players get the chance to do that right from the start, but Zion Turner is not every player. That’s what UConn coach Jim Mora is banking on, as Ta’Quan Roberson’s likely season-ending knee injury has compelled him to turn to the true freshman to lead the Huskies.
Ready or not, it’s Zion Turner’s show.
“It looks like he will be our starter now,” Mora said, after Turner’s understandably shaky debut in relief at Utah State. “He’s a winner. We know that. We had to throw him to the fire a little bit today, on the road, in a hostile environment, not expected to be a starter, going in really early in the game. I didn’t see him hesitate at all. It’s very evident in his demeanor why he has been a winner in his career, and the more he plays, the better he will get.”
The quarterback situation, which has been question mark at UConn since the days of Dan Orlovsky, has been as muddled going into this season as ever. Mora kept Tyler Phommachanh from last year’s team. But Phommachanh’s recovery from knee surgery has not progressed to the point where Mora is comfortable sending him out there. Roberson, from Penn State, and Cale Millen, who has played at Oregon and Northern Arizona, transferred in and offer experience. Roberson won the job and got UConn off to a steady start on Saturday.
Though Turner didn’t win the job, it was inevitable that he would get out there. This is the quarterback Mora targeted to develop and build around. Turner played at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., one of the most successful programs in the country. Against high expectations, Turner stood tall throughout his high school career, winning 37 of 39 starts, including three state championship games. From the moment Turner signed his letter of intent, Mora has been touting that win-loss record, and those championships. Turner is charged with bringing winning ways, a winner’s air of confidence, to a program that hasn’t had a winning season in a decade.
In camp, Turner, 6 feet 1, 195 pounds, showed a rocket arm, probably the strongest of the four, but he must learn touch and to play up to the speed of the college game, making good decisions with the ball. In a perfect UConn world, he would have played behind Roberson for most of the season and worked his way into the QB1 position.
But when Roberson went down in the first quarter of Game 1, the future arrived. Turner got the call and, truthfully, he looked like a true freshman in his first series, throwing a sideline pass without seeing Hunter Reynolds ready to jump the pattern. It was picked off. But on his next series, Turner did lead the Huskies into the end zone, throwing to Keelan Marion on a fade pattern for the score. It could be Marion’s last catch of the season; he broke a collarbone on the play.
There was so much excitement and exhilaration as the Huskies got out to a surprising 14-0 start, and it became Turner’s responsibility to keep the momentum going. He looked cool and in control, confidently clapping out the signals at the line
“I think he handled it well,” said Nate Carter, who rushed for 190 yards in the game. “For him to come in as a true freshman and lead our team the way he did, it was amazing. He’s a winner, like coach Mora says. He has a winning mentality, and he was ready when his number was called.”
The game turned, Utah eventually winning, 31-20. Turner was 12-for-31 for 109 yards, the TD and two interceptions, the other coming on the his final pass. Generally, he settled in, leading a couple of drives for field goals in the second half as UConn stayed close.
“There were times when he was hesitant to pull the trigger,” Mora said. “There were times when he was hesitant to just run it. But he never lost his composure. He never blinked in a tough situation. You know why this kid’s a winner. You saw it in his demeanor today.”
Now he has a week to get ready for his first start, against Central Connecticut at Rentschler Field on Saturday. Based on the way they played at Utah State, the Huskies should be able to control the game and take pressure off their young quarterback. But they do need Turner to mature quickly and play like a veteran, and soon.
The veteran Huskies believe they know a winner when they see one.
“I have all the respect for Zion,” linebacker Jackson Mitchell said. “Just watching him in camp, the way he came into camp as a freshman, the way he competed was amazing. He’s going to be all right. Trust me, he’s going to be all right. He’s a competitor, and he’s a winner. He’s going to be in the film room tomorrow, watching that game, and he’s going to get better. I expect a good game from him next week.”
