BILLY, NOT SEANTREL

LIKE CRETIN'S HENDERSON, MOUNDS VIEW'S TURNER HAS BEEN A FORCE ALONG THE LINE

Author: Brad Perlich
bperlich@pioneerpress.com

Edition: St. Paul
Section: Sports
Page: D9
Date: November 13, 2009

Article Text:

Mounds View's Billy Turner is not Seantrel Henderson. Though the compliment is nice, he prefers to keep his identity separate from Cretin-Derham Hall's massive offensive lineman, who is the top-ranked recruit in the nation.

Turner, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound senior tackle, was mistaken for Henderson recently by a concessions stand employee at a University of Minnesota football game at TCF Bank Stadium.

"I'd rather just be myself," said Turner, rated as Minnesota's eighth-best recruit by Rivals.com. "He's the No. 1 recruit, but I've always had my own identity."

One similarity is they have led their teams into this week's state football tournament. Mounds View (9-2) plays Lakeville North (9-2) in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals at 7 tonight at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul. Cretin-Derham Hall (10-1) plays Eastview (7-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Griffin.

Mounds View coach Jim Galvin said Henderson and Taylor are different.

"They're both unique in their own way, as much as they can be unique in their own way," Galvin said. "We run two different schemes, but they're both very good run and pass blockers. Seantrel is bigger and more physical than Billy, but we use Billy pulling on sweeps and getting to the edge more than they use Seantrel."

Galvin said Turner's athletic ability is what makes him stand out as a lineman.

"There are other 280-pound linemen out there, but when you see Billy run around on a football field or baseball field, you can see that he is something special," Galvin said.

That athleticism can perhaps be attributed to Turner's family tree.

His father, Maurice Turner, is a former Minnesota Vikings special-teams player. His brother, Maurice Jr., is a wide receiver at Northern Iowa.

Turner credits time with his dad and brother in the development of his athletic ability.

"They do agility drills and I'll go with my brother and dad, and even playing basketball and catch with them helps me develop my feet," he said. "I get all my athleticism from them helping me."

Turner leads a Mounds View offense that rushed for nearly 1,200 yards en route to a 6-2 regular-season record. The Mustangs, who lost to Stillwater earlier in the season, upset the top-seeded Ponies 23-17 last Friday in the Section 2AAAAA championship game.

Galvin and Turner's father, a Mounds View assistant coach, praised Billy Turner's leadership.

"He's the kind of kid that has the attitude that he can talk to anybody, and he is a leader on and off the field," Galvin said. "Billy doesn't need the title of captain to be a leader out there."

Said Turner's father: "He doesn't look at any of his teammates any differently from a starter or a backup, and I think that's a good trait when you can treat all kids the same way."

Turner is using his father's experience in choosing a college.

"Every day after football, I talk to my family and they give me pointers, like what to expect and what to look for in a school," Turner said. "Ultimately, when I do choose the school I go to, it will be a school where I'm wanted and where my parents think is good for me."

Turner said he has been contacted by North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Wyoming and Buffalo.

North Dakota State and Northern Iowa appear to be Turner's early favorites.

"I like NDSU because they've been after me from the get-go," he said. "It's just that feeling that they want me. I feel comfortable with them. But other schools like Northern Iowa, I've been going down there for three or four years because my brother goes there, so I know what it's like down there to some extent."