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FARMINGTON — It’s a full-circle moment to come back to the very field he grew up on and host a youth football camp, but for University of Wisconsin linebacker Jordan Turner, it’s an opportunity he’s been waiting on for the longest time.
A leader for the Badgers on the field, Turner is returning to the very high school he called home to make an impact on youth football players.
Turner will lead a football camp for third through eighth graders 10 a.m.-noon that will focus on offensive and defensive fundamentals, teamwork and academic excellence 10 a.m.-noon May 13 at Farmington High School.
Camp attendees will receive an official camp T-shirt, refreshments, an autograph from Turner and a photo opportunity with Turner, as well. Tickets cost $40.
“I know I wanted to give back to my community and also my school, because, ultimately, they helped me become the football player I am today, from teachers to the principal and the kids I went to school with,” Turner said. “They helped me become the person I was. I had an opportunity to have a camp this summer, and I figured why not.”
Turner, a redshirt junior linebacker at Wisconsin, finished second on the team in tackles last season with 68 and was named honorable mention all-Big Ten and defensive Most Valuable Player at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State.
The 6 foot, 2 inch, 232-pound linebacker was an all-State selection at Farmington before graduating in 2020 and was a three-star recruit with offers from numerous Division I schools.
Turner will be joined at the camp by his former Farmington coach, Kory Cioroch, current Farmington coach Jason Albrecht, current Division I players, and other local high school coaches.
Returning to the field where he made a name for himself, Turner said it’s a dream come true for him.
“I’m really excited, because I’ve bled on that field; I gave it my all,” Turner said. “Sometimes my all wasn’t enough, but to be in a position where I can come back and help other people achieve their goals and their dreams, that’s all I could ask for.”
Turner is no stranger to community involvement, making an impact in his local community for as long as he can remember alongside his mother, Carol Turner.
Carol Turner, a Wisconsin graduate, has always had the mindset of community-first, whether it’s been through charity work through her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, or her current work with the Pearls of Service Foundation.
“When he was growing up, I would take him with me to different community service events that I was participating in, having him help out in any way he could,” Carol Turner said. “As he grew older and able to do more, I worked on an initiative where we were providing backpacks to students in the area, so he had the opportunity to help me stuff backpacks. When we did cleanup in the community, he also did cleanup of different parks in Oakland County when he was growing up.”
But it didn’t stop there. Jordan’s father, Lennie Turner, would have the Southfield Ravens youth football program take part in community service when Jordan was a part of the team.
“We’d go do the Forgotten Harvest, where we go take these big ole donations of food and break them down for the homeless and needy families,” Lennie Turner said.
Having all that in mind, it was a no-brainer for Jordan Turner to make an immediate impact on the Wisconsin community once he called it home.
In August 2022, Turner partnered with The Road Home Dane County to give out backpacks and school supplies to students who were previously homeless and had moved into housing.
A little of a tribute to his mother and her previous impact with school children and backpacks, Carol Turner said Jordan had the idea on his mind since joining the Badgers.
“When he had his platform to do it and he wanted to do something using his football platform, he said, ‘Mom, I want to do something in Wisconsin,’” Turner said. “I said, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ He remembered that I did backpacks, and he said he wanted to do something with backpacks. We looked in the Madison area to find an organization that was holding a backpack drive, and that’s how we found The Road Home.”
Already making an impact both on and off the field, Turner will look to be a force for the Wisconsin defense this season, but also a staple in the community.
Turner said he gives all the thanks to the ones who have been by his side since the beginning.
“To be honest, they’re the ones who make me want to go harder,” Turner said. “I’m hard on myself in my own head, like I’m not good enough or I’m not doing everything I’m supposed to do, and my support system will always know what to say and how to get me out and just make me keep getting better.”
For more information and to sign up for the camp, visit the page on eventbrite.com. A portion of the proceeds go toward fighting childhood hunger in the Detroit metropolitan area.
