Former Boilermaker Turner excited to have Purdue in Bay Area for bowl

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Keena Turner doesn’t expect he’ll be able to sit still.

His Purdue Boilermakers in his town?

How can Turner, one of the best defensive ends to play in West Lafayette, be expected to just pop into a seat in the stands at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 27 for that? He can’t possibly stay off the sidelines for the Foster Farms Bowl, right? He certainly won’t just be hunkered down in a suite in the stadium either, though he joked he wouldn’t mind ending up there by the end, sipping wine.

Turner’s excitement was palpable last week when he spoke about Purdue’s bowl game against Arizona in Santa Clara, Calif., where his 49ers play — Turner’s worked or played for the franchise for three decades — and down the road from San Francisco.

It won’t be the first time Turner will see Purdue play in person — his daughter, Ella, is a freshman at the school, so he’s been back to campus more often this year than most — but this one still will be special.

“Very excited. That hadn’t happened a very long time. I think last time the team was out this way where I was able to go support was Brees at the Rose Bowl,” Turner, currently the Niners VP of Football Affairs, said in a phone interview late last week. “It’s just cool. Very excited.

“Knowing Jeff (Brohm) because he’s one our alumni here at the 49ers and just being excited about him coming in and obviously as the season went on, to see the impact and influence he had on the program immediately was great. To be on campus with the new excitement and everybody being energized and Jeff and the staff doing what they did and the team responding, my daughter there, it was a good year.”

Especially with how Turner — and the rest of Purdue’s fans — saw Brohm and his staff seemingly transform the program so quickly.

The Boilermakers had won only nine games in the previous four seasons, but they won three-of-four games in November to reach 6-6 and qualify for a bowl berth.

Turner’s Purdue experience was a bit similar.

Purdue had been floundering near .500 for years under Alex Agase — managing 5-6, 4-6-1, 4-7 and 5-6 finishes — before hiring offensive guru Jim Young from Arizona before the 1977 season, Turner’s second year. But it was the defense that really carried the program to record heights in Young’s first couple seasons.

After going 5-6 in Year 1, the Boilermakers ripped off three consecutive seasons with at least nine victories, including the only 10-win season in the program’s history. In 1978, with Purdue’s offense averaging only 21.8 points, Purdue’s defense posted three shutouts and eight times allowed 14 points or fewer. Its season high allowed was only 24 points (twice).

This season with offensive guru Brohm, the Boilermakers averaged only 24.2 points but were sparked by their improved defense under Nick Holt, drastically cutting points allowed (19.3) and yards allowed (370.9) from 2016.

And though Holt probably wouldn’t label his defense the “junk defense” — that’s what it was referred to in Turner’s days under coordinator Leon Burtnett — there are similarities to the two schemes.

So it’s probably not surprising Turner appreciated Holt’s approach.

“I love it,” Turner said. “I think I learned this at Purdue — to always be accountable for who I am as a player and then who we are as a defense and then who we are as a team and what we represent in the university. And so what was clear in watching Purdue this season was this identity that they established. The way you establish an identity is you’re that way every week and then people come to expect, ‘OK, this is who they are’ because this is who they’ve been every week. When you start to establish an identity and you answer that question to myself, ‘Who am I? Who am I as a player? Who are we as a defense? Who are we as a team?’ That’s what people see, week in and week out.

“An attacking defense is what you want to see. That’s my side of the ball. You don’t want to be on your heels letting the offense dictate. You want to be confident. You want to let the offense know you’re coming at them. So it was incredibly gratifying to watch the defense attack and stay after people, no matter what. No matter what the circumstances came to be in the game. You don’t win them all, but you keep the same style and approach.”

Burtnett’s approach was based on taking advantage of players skill sets and the talent of the personnel he had at the time, Turner said. Which is what Holt did this season when he moved Gelen Robinson from end to tackle, slid Danny Ezechukwu down to a stand-up, rush-end-type linebacker and utilized Markus Bailey as an outside linebacker to capitalize on his versatility. Holt’s scheme also allowed linebackers to be attacking downhill against the run, focusing on that first, which lined up with Purdue’s personnel strengths with Ja’Whaun Bentley, T.J. McCollum and Bailey.

For Burtnett, that meant allowing Turner, a converted tight end, to be a stand-up linebacker-type with an intent on rushing the passer.

And Turner did that as well as anyone has at Purdue.

Though sacks weren’t kept when he played in the late 1970s, Turner racked up tackles for loss, logging a whopping 25 in 1978 and another 23 in 1979. And that was after “only” 10 in 1977 — a number that would qualify as one of Purdue’s leaders this season.

“Jeff Zgonina reminds me almost daily here that he broke all my records at Purdue,” said Turner, referencing the former Boilermaker who is now the Niners D-line coach. “What was exciting for me back in those days was you had the ability and the freedom to get after the quarterback at times or be able to make hits in the backfield. That was a great feeling for a defensive player way back when and it still is — the ability to stop the offense on their side of the ball.

“In today’s game, whenever offenses know exactly what you’re doing, it’s easier for them to make adjustments. So a variety of looks and the ability to come after people in different ways from different sets and different looks throughout the game is to the defense’s advantage. So ‘junk’ just simply meant, for us, it was going to be a variety of looks. It may not look pretty, but we were coming after you. At the end of the day, junk then and now, means we’re coming after you.”

Turner will be around the Boilermakers as much as he can next week, whether it's attending pep rallies with current 49er and another former Boilermaker Raheem Mostert, or, if called upon, speaking to the team itself.

He's willing to be involved in whatever capacity Brohm would like.

He's just happy Purdue is here — back in a bowl generally but, especially, in his town.

"I want him to know he has a lot of alumni, including my complete support," Turner said. "I got a chance to see Jeff when he was here last week. They were in town for about 24 hours, doing site stuff and they had a quick reception I was able to attend. I was boyish around him in that I was excited, for him and for Purdue and really looking forward to looking to the game and obviously next season. It feels good."

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