John Turner is in his third season working with South Alabama tight ends and his seventh overall as a member of the Jaguar coaching staff.
Wes Saxton was a first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection a year ago under his guidance after ranking in the top 10 in the league in both catches and receiving yards per game; the junior tied a program record with 50 catches while totalling a career-best 635 yards.  He wasn’t the only individual to make an impact at the position under Turner’s direction, however, as Davin Hawkins caught two passes for 45 yards including a 30-yard touchdown reception in a 41-39 victory at Tulane — USA’s first win of the season — and Ryan Onkka scored on his first career catch as the Jags defeated Louisiana-Monroe.
In the classroom, Rush Hendricks was the program’s lone academic all-district selection after earning first-team honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Turner’s efforts helped Jag tight ends become a more significant factor in the USA passing game in 2012 as Saxton (23 catches, 336 yards, 1 TD) and Greg Hollinger (22 catches, 321 yards, 2 TDs) became the first two individuals at the position to record double-digit reception totals in the same season.
In the program’s first-ever season, Turner’s unit played a key role in helping the Jaguars average better than 45 points and nearly 440 yards per outing.  The offensive line cleared the way for USA running backs to record an average of more than six yards per carry, while the passing game accounted for over 170 yards per contest as the group surrendered just seven sacks in seven games.  Five Jag linemen recorded five knockdown blocks per game or more, including two — Jon Griffin and Chris Brunson — who paced the group with 55 and 53 pancakes, respectively.
In 2010, the offensive line was just as effective as USA averaged more than 41 points and nearly 440 yards per game while winning all 10 outings. Â The unit helped the Jaguars collect more than 200 yards per game both on the ground and through the air, and it allowed just 12 sacks despite missing the services of a pair of upperclassmen for multiple games. Â Both Griffin and Trey Clark were credited with better than seven pancake blocks per contest, with six individuals reaching double digits in the category.
The Jaguars averaged better than 325 yards and nearly 25 points per contest last year against an upgraded schedule that featured the first two NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in school history, while the unit’s pass-blocking efforts helped USA quarterbacks throw for better than 170 yards per contest.  Seven lineman were credited with at least 10 knockdown blocks on the season, while off the field Clark became the first member of the program to earn national academic honors after he was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
A native of Fort Meade, Fla., Turner served as offensive line coach at Chattanooga beginning in 2003 and was promoted to assistant head coach following the 2005 season.  His line units surrendered less than a sack per game on average over his last three years and he produced a trio of all-Southern Conference selections — tackle Josh Shinpaugh in 2005, guard Justin Matherson in 2006 and center Garrett Windham in ’07.
Turner went to UTC after one season at Western Carolina.  He has also had collegiate coaching stops at Clemson as a graduate assistant for Tommy Bowden in 2001 and at Auburn in 1997 and ’98, when he was offensive line and special teams assistant under Terry Bowden.  AU won the SEC West and defeated Clemson in the Peach Bowl his first year with the program, while Clemson went 7-5 and defeated Louisiana Tech 49-24 in the Humanitarian Bowl in his lone season with the program.  CU spent eight weeks in the national rankings, with the highlight of its season a 47-44 overtime victory at then-No. 9 Georgia Tech.
A 1988 graduate of Jacksonville State with a degree in physical education, Turner was a standout offensive lineman for the Gamecocks in 1986 and 1987. Â JSU finished 5-4-1 in each of his two seasons as a letterwinner.
He began his coaching career immediately as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, working with a team that reached the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.  The Gamecocks ended that season 10-2 overall, and they went 7-1 in Gulf South Conference play to tie for the league championship — JSU would defeat West Chester 63-24 for the school’s first postseason victory in six years.
Turner also has ties to the high school ranks in the state, coaching at Daleville High School (1989-93), Dothan High School (1994-96) and UMS-Wright Prep (1999-00).  In just his second season on the staff, Daleville High advanced to the second round of the state 4A playoffs before falling 27-21 in double overtime to the eventual runner-up.  After a two-point loss in the second round to the same school the following fall — this time, the opposition would go on to earn the title — his DHS team won the state championship in 1992 and advanced to the state finals in 1993.
Dothan HS advanced to the state 6A playoffs in his final year on the staff as well, while his efforts helped UMS-Wright win a pair of postseason contests to make the quarterfinals of the 4A bracket in each of his two seasons with the school.
Turner has coaching in his heritage as his father, Blaine, is a retired head coach in the Florida high school ranks, while his brother Brian is also on the USA staff.
While at Auburn, Turner earned his master’s degree in physical education in 1998.  He and his wife Kim have one son, Walker Wilson (7).
The Turner File
Born: Oct. 8, 1966, in Tampa, Fla.
Education:
 Jacksonville State ’88, bachelor’s degree in physical education
 Auburn ’98, master’s degree in physical education
Collegiate Playing Experience:
 Two years, offensive lineman, Marion Military Institute
 Two years, offensive lineman, Jacksonville State
Coaching Experience:
 Jacksonville State — graduate assistant, 1988
 Daleville [Ala.] High — assistant coach, 1989-93
 Dothan [Ala.] High — assistant coach, 1994-96
 Auburn — graduate assistant, 1997-98
 UMS-Wright [Ala.] High — assistant coach, 1999-00
 Clemson — graduate assistant, 2001
 Western Carolina — assistant coach, 2002
 Chattanooga — assistant coach, 2003-07
 South Alabama — assistant coach, 2008-
Family: Wife, Kim; One son, Walker Wilson (7)
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