2012 Bio

Jamal Turner Photo Gallery

Honors & Awards

• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall, 2011)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll (2011)

Jamal Turner has been an explosive play-maker for Nebraska the past two seasons and is part of one of the nation’s top returning receiving corps. Turner is joined by fellow junior Kenny Bell and senior Quincy Enunwa as the leaders of the NU receiving unit, and that trio combined for better than 120 receptions and 1,750 yards last season.

The 6-1, 185-pound Turner played the best football of his career in the second half of the 2012 season, and is poised for big things in 2013. He finished the season with 32 receptions for 417 yards and three touchdowns, an average of 13.0 yards per catch, with 18 of his catches and all three touchdowns coming in the final six games of the season.

A former high school quarterback, Turner has great speed and elusiveness and has become an outstanding route runner. In addition to his role at receiver, Turner is one of the leading candidates for kickoff and punt return duties.

2012 (Sophomore)
Turner played in all 14 games and made four starts, including the last three games, when NU opened with three receivers. Turner had six games with three or more catches, including a season-high six receptions against Minnesota.

The first two touchdowns of Turner’s career were both game-changers. The first came on a six-yard TD catch with six seconds remaining to give NU a 28-24 win at Michigan State. The second came in the fourth quarter a week later against Penn State, giving Nebraska its first lead of the day in a comeback victory. Turner caught his third touchdown against Georgia in the Capital One Bowl. Turner also finished with four rushing attempts, while averaging 5.7 yards on six punt returns and 22.1 yards on seven kickoff returns.

In the opener against Southern Miss, Turner had two catches for 46 yards, including a season-long 36-yard catch. Turner made his first career start at UCLA and had one reception and two rushing attempts. Turner combined for four catches in the first two Big Ten games, before being a part of a big passing day at Northwestern with three catches for 56 yards, including a key 25-yard catch to set up Nebraska’s game-winning touchdown.

Turner had two receptions at Michigan State, including the game-winning touchdown, then added two catches the following week against Penn State, highlighted by his fourth-quarter score. Turner caught a career-high six passes for 83 yards against Minnesota, just one yard shy of his career-high 84 yards at Wisconsin in 2011. Turner started against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and led NU with 63 receiving yards on five catches, highlighted by a 32-yard third-quarter catch. Turner capped the season with three catches for 22 yards against Georgia, including a 14-yard TD reception in the first quarter.

2011 (Freshman)
Turner played in 12 games and was fifth on the team with 15 receptions for 243 yards. Turner's average of 16.2 yards per reception was second only to Kyler Reed. Turner had at least one reception in each of the first five games. He caught three passes for 63 yards, including a season-long 43-yard catch against Fresno State.

Turner had a season-high five receptions for 84 yards at Wisconsin, including two catches of at least 25 yards. Turner had two receptions each against Washington, Wyoming and Minnesota. He added one kickoff return for 17 yards against Washington.

Before Nebraska (Sam Houston HS)
Turner came to Nebraska after a prolific high school career at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas. He was one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks for Coach Danny Edelman, racking up more than 10,000 yards of total offense in three years as a starter.

As a senior, Turner rushed for 1,888 yards on 267 carries and 35 rushing touchdowns. Through the air, he completed better than 60 percent of his passes for 1,551 yards and eight touchdowns. His play as a senior earned Turner first-team All-DFW area selection by the Dallas Morning News as a utility player, and he was also an honorable-mention Class 5A all-state pick. Turner produced similar statistics as a junior with 1,809 yards and 19 touchdowns rushing, while averaging better than eight yards per carry. He also threw for better than 1,800 yards and 13 touchdowns and earned second-team All-DFW area honors and second-team 5A all-state honors.

Turner first stepped into the starting quarterback role as a sophomore and posted big passing numbers. He threw for 2,611 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for better than 400 yards and nine touchdowns. Turner was chosen to play in the Under Armour All-American game in Florida in January, and he showed his all-around ability by lining up at receiver in the game. ESPN ranked Turner among the top 50 overall prospects in the country and as the No. 6 "athlete" in the nation. Rivals.com ranked Turner among the top 140 players in the nation and the top 20 prospects in Texas. Turner only visited Nebraska, but had numerous offers including Missouri, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas A&M and USC.

Personal
Turner is the son of the late Rusty Turner and Jeffery Turner and was born on Feb. 1, 1993. He is a criminology and criminal justice major and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2011 and the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2011. Turner is a regular in NU’s community outreach efforts, volunteering his time at Madonna Rehabilitation Center, local hospital visits and Husker Hotline.

Turner's Career Statistics

Rushing: Career: 6 carries, -2 yards, 0 TDs, -0.3 average, long of 6 vs. UCLA (2012)
2012: 4 carries, 1 yards, 0 TDs, 0.3 average, long of 6 vs. UCLA
2011: 2 carries, -3 yards, 0 TDs, minus- 1.5 average, long of 4 vs. Chattanooga

Kickoff Returns: Career: 8 returns, 172 yards, 0 TDs, 21.5 average, long of 35 vs. Idaho St. (2012)
2012: 7 returns, 155 yards, 0 TDs, 22.1 average, long of 35 vs. Idaho State
2011: 1 return, 17 yards, 0 TDs, 17.0 average, long of 17 vs. Washington

Punt Returns: 6 returns, 34 yards, 0 TDs, 5.7 average, long of 22 vs. Idaho State (all in 2012)

Single-Game Highs
» Receptions - 6 vs. Minnesota (2012)
» Yards - 89 at Wisconsin (2011)
» TDs - 1 three times (at Michigan State, vs. Penn State, vs. Georgia in 2012)