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Eric Williams
NFL Reporter
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Kobie Turner was a little salty.
Last February, soon after he learned that Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. had won Defensive Rookie of the Year — even though Turner had led all rookies in sacks while playing nose tackle — he reached out to Rams teammate Aaron Donald.
After talking with Donald, who retired in March as one of the best defensive players in NFL history, Turner spent a week in Pittsburgh training with defensive line guru Al “Poodie” Carson, an instructor of the Israeli martial art called Krav Maga. Years ago, a video of Carson training Donald while working with fake knives made waves on social media.
Carson also spent time in L.A. working with Turner and other Rams offensive and defensive linemen just before the start of training camp.
“It helps to slow the game down,” Turner said about the training. “It helps you to know now when you feel different things, how to respond.”
Turner is moving from nose tackle to 3-technique defensive tackle — the position Donald played for the past decade, earning 10 straight Pro Bowls and three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Turner led all defensive tackles in sacks (9) and defensive pressures (27) in 2023. His nine sacks tied a franchise rookie record set by Donald in 2014. According to Next Gen Stats, Turner’s pressure rate of 10.5% was the third-highest of any rookie defensive tackle with at least 250 pass rushes since 2018, trailing only 2023 first-round pick Jalen Carter (12.3%) and second-round pick Christian Barmore (10.8%).
The trick for Turner this year will be making the position his own rather than trying to mimic Donald, who took over games in an otherworldly, freakish way.
“It’s hard in a way, and it’s easy in a way,” Turner told FOX Sports. “It’s easy because nobody is going to do what Aaron does. He is the greatest to ever do it for a reason. I hope to be able to build up…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/next-aaron-donald-kobie-turner-focused-creating-own-legacy-rams
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Publish date : 2024-09-06 13:09:20
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