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Induction Speech
Hall of Fame Video
1-on-1 with Michael Turner
Michael Turner – Northern Illinois (football):
Michael Turner was key to the resurgence of NIU football. During his senior season in 2003, Turner led NIU to historic wins over No. 15th ranked Maryland and No. 21st ranked Alabama en route to a 7-0 start and No. 12 national ranking before finishing the year with a 10-2 overall record. During his junior year, the Huskies posted an 8-4 record with a win over ACC’s Wake Forest and a 7-1 record to tie for first place in the MAC West.
Turner is Northern Illinois’ career leader with 6,038 all-purpose yards and earned All-America honors from Football Digest, The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated in 2002 and 2003.
A native of North Chicago, Turner’s only scholarship offer was to NIU and he burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2000 when he rushed for over 200 yards in back-to-back weeks against Eastern Michigan (230) and Central Michigan (281) and finished as the nation’s leading freshman rusher (89.4 yards per game).
During a breakout junior season, Turner rushed for 1,915 yards, the second highest total in the nation, and tied a school record with 19 touchdowns on his way to First Team All-MAC honors and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.
Turner finished his spectacular NIU career with 1,648 rushing yards as a senior, the fourth-highest total in the country, including 14 touchdowns, and garnered All-MAC First Team honors.
Turner finished his career with a school-record 940 rushing attempts and ranked second in school history with 4,941 rushing yards. His 48 touchdowns rank fourth in Huskie history and he recorded 21 100-yard rushing games, the third-most in school history.
In MAC annals, Turner ranks third in career rushing yards (4,941), third in career rushing attempts (940), fifth in career all-purpose yards (6,038), eighth in career touchdowns (48) and 11th in career rushing touchdowns (43). His 1,915 yards rushing in 2002 led the league and ranks third-highest single season totals in MAC history, while his 2,284 all-purpose yards in 2002 also led the league and ranks as seventh-highest single season totals in Conference history. He totaled a MAC record 52 carries in a game against Central Michigan in 2000 and tied a MAC record with five rushing touchdowns in a single game.
Turner was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played nine years in the NFL and scored 66 touchdowns with 7,338 career rushing yards on 1,639 career attempts. Turner played four seasons in San Diego (2004-07) and five seasons with Atlanta (2008-2012) and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection with the Falcons (2008, 2010) and was named to the All-Pro team both years. During the 2008 season in Atlanta he gained 1,669 yards on 376 carries with 17 touchdowns, setting the Falcons single season touchdown record. He also owns the Atlanta Falcons record for career rushing touchdowns (60).
Turner was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
