This summer, Trey Turner can be found hitting the gridiron as he gears up for his anticipated senior campaign as Pittsburg’s starting quarterback. But under a year ago, the beginning of a difficult battle was just underway.
During Pittsburg’s annual preseason scrimmage, Turner took the field and looked the part of a rising star, poised to lead his team into the 2017 season. Everything seemed to be going as normal, as Turner dazzled with pinpoint accuracy and mobility during the scrimmage. But while rolling to his left against De La Salle, Turner went down and couldn’t get back up, having awkwardly planted his foot and knee while taking a hit from the side.
Although at the moment the severity of the injury wasn’t fully known, Turner was hoping for the best. But as the weekend went by, the results came from an MRI came in and confirmed the worst fears of those around the Pirates' program. Turner got a phone call from his father during his lunch period informing him that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It was news that left Turner in tears.
Pittsburg was without it’s starting quarterback just a week before facing California powerhouse Centennial-Corona in the opening week of the season. And while Turner’s absence was a huge loss, his team had one of the most historic years in Pittsburg football history. The Pirates went 9-1, reclaiming the BVAL title after a two year drought and made their first CIF Bowl appearance in program history, winning the Northern California D1-AA championship, before dropping the state title game against Narbonne.
But Turner had to watch everything go down on his crutches from the sideline.
“I was happy we made it to our state game, and I was fully engaged in that,” Turner said. “But just having to watch the practices and games and knowing I couldn’t participate in anything was the hardest part.”
Despite Turner’s injury, his leadership role was at full health. Already accepting the fact he wasn’t going to be able to make an impact on the field, he did his best by taking the role as a peer coach, especially guiding Justin Boyd, who was put into the starting quarterback position just days before the season opener.
ACL tears are essentially an athlete's worst nightmare, and Turner could not wake up from it. The then-junior had to miss two weeks of school, which to some students may seem as a treat, but for Turner it saw his 4.0 GPA disappear in the blink of an eye. In addition to that, simple things like taking a shower and getting around the house turned into rocket science.
“It was very hard to see Trey go down with this serious of an injury,” said his father Aaron Turner, who also serves as Pittsburg’s wide receivers coach. “When something like this happens, the whole family feels it. But we had to move on and move forward.”
And while Turner stayed at home, his parents went to work, leaving him by himself with his thoughts.
“I just wanted to get through it. I wanted to get back on my feet and get back to doing what I do,” Turner said.
But a couple days after his injury, he got another call. This time it was from his strength and conditioning coach Joseph Hughes, and from there the grind hit the road and never stopped running. Turner says that Hughes played a huge role in his recovery. While it was a very long process, they both never gave up on each other, although tt took two months for Turner to start rehabbing through moving exercises.
And on January 1, while most people are recovering from the New Year’s Celebration, Turner was at Hughes’ gym, and has been on a consistent basis ever since. Turner said he goes four days a week ever since that day, and that’s something he doesn’t plan to change anytime soon.
The results showed, as on March 24 Turner was able to hit his first full sprint, a moment he felt was a high point in his recovery. He knew it was the next step in the process.
“The word ethic by definition is a set of principles and that’s where it starts. Trey is one of the hardest workers on the team, yes, but he is here because of the person he is,” said Hughes. “His character never changed. Every kid on the team respects him. He is healthy, no setbacks, and ready to be every bit as athletic.”
The last time Turner played an official game came in 2016, when Pittsburg lost to rival Freedom in the inaugural Open Division championship. And even despite such a long time off and a gruesome injury, Turner was able to reel in offers this off-season from Army and Eastern Washington.
“When I got my surgery, I didn’t think I’d come into my senior year with any offers,” Turner said. “But once I got them, I realized how much work I’ve done and all the preparation I’ve been doing. I’m happy to have them.”
And while one challenge is complete, another one is ahead. Pittsburg has one of the toughest non-league schedules in the entire Bay Area, and his focus is now to help lead his team to where they once were, go beyond that, and let the offers roll in as time progresses. One hurdle may have been cleared, but many more lie in wait. And the Pirates have a young man leading them who now knows a thing or two about taking those steps towards the finish line.
