Florida CB Josh Turner commits to Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The state of Texas has gained most of the attention in helping to build the Iowa football team’s 2017 recruiting class.
But now another state that’s famous for producing top-notch talent has entered the picture as Florida defensive back Josh Turner committed to Iowa on Thursday.
The Delray Beach, Fla., native is the latest player to make a verbal commitment to Iowa’s 2017 recruiting class and the 16th player overall in the class. Turner is also the first recruit from Florida to commit to Iowa’s 2017 class, which currently has five Texas natives on board.
"It feels great," said Turner, who announced his decision on Twitter. "I can tell this is going to be something special."
The 6-foot, 180-pound Turner praised the Iowa coaches, particularly head coach Kirk Ferentz, for making him feel special as a recruit.
"Just the love they gave me, it never stopped," Turner said. "And the relationships I had with the coaches, especially coach Ferentz, he’s a great guy that I know will keep his word."
Turner had narrowed his list of schools to six this summer. In addition to Iowa, he also liked Wisconsin, Purdue, Boston College, South Florida, and Army.
Iowa started to pull ahead, though, after Turner took an unofficial visit to Iowa City in June.
Turner is the latest in a long line of Florida natives to pick Iowa under Ferentz, but the first since receiver Adrian Falconer signed with the Hawkeyes in 2015.
Some of the previous Hawkeye stars from Florida include quarterback Brad Banks, receiver Maurice Brown, linebacker Abdul Hodge, defensive lineman Colin Cole and defensive backs Andre Allen and Marcus Paschal among others.
Falconer, who is from Leesburg, Fla., is currently the only Florida native listed on Iowa’s two-deep depth chart. He is listed as the No. 2 receiver behind senior Riley McCarron.
COMMITTED #Swarm17 #LongliveGB4 #ForGB 4?? pic.twitter.com/1Ujo9uYyqZ
— joshua turner (@Joshyturner_) August 11, 2016