JuanDrago "DJ" Turner II (born November 9, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

Early life

Turner was born on November 9, 2000, in Suwanee, Georgia. He attended North Gwinnett High School before transferring to IMG Academy in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, for his senior year. He committed to the

to play

College career

Turner appeared in eight total games his first two years at Michigan in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he played in all 14 games and made eight starts. He finished the year with 33 tackles, two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. Turner returned as a starter in 2022, intercepting one pass and returning a fumble 45 yards for a touchdown.

Professional career

Turner was selected by the

in the second round, 60th overall, of the

. In Week 5 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, Bengals' starting cornerback

Chidobe Awuzie Chidobe Richard Awuzie (born May 24, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He played college fo ...

was ruled out for injury, leading to Turner getting his first career start. Turner would finish the game with four total tackles and one pass deflection, grading the highest of all the Bengals' cornerbacks in the 34–20 win.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioMichigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, DJ 2000 births Living people People from Suwanee, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia IMG Academy alumni American football cornerbacks Michigan Wolverines football players Cincinnati Bengals players