Maryland senior starting slot wide receiver DJ Turner will not return for the remainder of the 2019 season, head coach Mike Locksley announced Wednesday evening.
Turner was charged with a litany of counts — including driving under the influence — after being pulled over in the early hours of Sept. 20. This occurred during the bye week following the defeat against Temple in Philadelphia. Turner hasn’t seen the field since, though Locksley never announced a formal suspension.
That means Turner has only played three games this season, keeping him eligible for a redshirt year. According to Locksley, Turner and the team plan to take advantage of that opportunity in an effort to keep the veteran pass catcher on the 2020 roster.
“We’re going to utilize the redshirt year that he has to allow him to continue to work on his issues off the field, which he’s doing a great job on,” Locksley said. “We want to keep supporting him as we have been, but we’re going to utilize the redshirt season that he has, and hopefully get him back next year to play.”
Turner has appeared to practice every day since the incident, save for last Tuesday when he presumably was dealing with the school and/or law enforcement regarding his charges. There haven’t been any public updates regarding his case, but it seems as though Turner will be ready to go without limitation next fall, at least right now.
Turner was charged with a litany of counts — including driving under the influence — after being pulled over in the early hours of Sept. 20. This occurred during the bye week following the defeat against Temple in Philadelphia. Turner hasn’t seen the field since, though Locksley never announced a formal suspension.
That means Turner has only played three games this season, keeping him eligible for a redshirt year. According to Locksley, Turner and the team plan to take advantage of that opportunity in an effort to keep the veteran pass catcher on the 2020 roster.
“We’re going to utilize the redshirt year that he has to allow him to continue to work on his issues off the field, which he’s doing a great job on,” Locksley said. “We want to keep supporting him as we have been, but we’re going to utilize the redshirt season that he has, and hopefully get him back next year to play.”
Turner has appeared to practice every day since the incident, save for last Tuesday when he presumably was dealing with the school and/or law enforcement regarding his charges. There haven’t been any public updates regarding his case, but it seems as though Turner will be ready to go without limitation next fall, at least right now.