Michael Turner Jr.
Mansoor Delane took his first-round grade to the NFL, and behind LSU's two settled starters the cornerback room got young, thin, and slender in a hurry. That is exactly the kind of opening a buried four-star waits three years for. Michael Turner Jr. is one of the names quietly in line for it.
Mansoor Delane took his first-round grade to the NFL, and behind LSU's two settled starters the cornerback room got young, thin, and slender in a hurry. That is exactly the kind of opening a buried four-star waits three years for. Michael Turner Jr. is one of the names quietly in line for it.
The story in Baton Rouge this offseason isn't Turner — it's the hole around him. With Mansoor Delane gone to the NFL Draft, DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland are the locked-in outside corners, and beat writers covering spring camp were blunt that everything past those two is unproven and undersized. That's the room Turner is competing in. He arrived at LSU as a four-star athlete out of New Orleans powerhouse John Curtis, made the full-time switch to corner under Corey Raymond, and has spent two seasons mostly waiting: 11 career games, 3 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and 38 special-teams snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2025. The 247Sports spring read on the position group called the depth behind the top three 'very unproven' with 'not much physical size' — and at a listed 162 pounds, Turner fits that description as much as he benefits from it. The bet on him is the same bet LSU made when it flipped him to defense: high-ceiling athlete, plus pedigree, Raymond's track record of turning slender corners into pros. The question the boards keep circling back to is whether year three is finally the one where a buried ATH turns into a rotational corner — or whether one of the three incoming freshmen jumps the line first.
How he plays
A converted athlete still growing into the position, Turner profiles as a long, twitchy press-man project rather than a finished cover man — the John Curtis tape showed a two-way playmaker (25 catches, 519 yards, 6 TDs on offense; a 71-yard fumble return score on defense) whose ball skills and closing speed were always the selling points. At a listed 162 pounds he has to add mass to survive SEC route-running, and his 2025 work was almost entirely special teams, so the projection is built on traits and pedigree, not a body of college snaps. With no play-by-play tracking data on file, the read stays scouting-grade: high-upside athlete, plus recovery burst, room to grow as a tackler and in run support before he's a trusted every-down corner.
- 247Sports — LSU 2026 spring practice preview: cornerback (depth behind starters 'very unproven,' undersized)
- nola.com — LSU football depth chart: projected starters on defense (Pickett & Woodland outside, Delane to NFL)
- LSU Sports — Michael Turner Jr. official bio (career stats, special-teams snaps, John Curtis pedigree)
- ESPN — Michael Turner Jr. LSU Tigers cornerback profile
The story
The story in Baton Rouge this offseason isn't Turner — it's the hole around him. With Mansoor Delane gone to the NFL Draft, DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland are the locked-in outside corners, and beat writers covering spring camp were blunt that everything past those two is unproven and undersized. That's the room Turner is competing in. He arrived at LSU as a four-star athlete out of New Orleans powerhouse John Curtis, made the full-time switch to corner under Corey Raymond, and has spent two seasons mostly waiting: 11 career games, 3 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and 38 special-teams snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2025. The 247Sports spring read on the position group called the depth behind the top three 'very unproven' with 'not much physical size' — and at a listed 162 pounds, Turner fits that description as much as he benefits from it. The bet on him is the same bet LSU made when it flipped him to defense: high-ceiling athlete, plus pedigree, Raymond's track record of turning slender corners into pros. The question the boards keep circling back to is whether year three is finally the one where a buried ATH turns into a rotational corner — or whether one of the three incoming freshmen jumps the line first.
SOURCES
- 247Sports — LSU 2026 spring practice preview: cornerback (depth behind starters 'very unproven,' undersized)
- nola.com — LSU football depth chart: projected starters on defense (Pickett & Woodland outside, Delane to NFL)
- LSU Sports — Michael Turner Jr. official bio (career stats, special-teams snaps, John Curtis pedigree)
- ESPN — Michael Turner Jr. LSU Tigers cornerback profile
Career Arc
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lane Kiffin
Career stats
How he plays
Play style
A converted athlete still growing into the position, Turner profiles as a long, twitchy press-man project rather than a finished cover man — the John Curtis tape showed a two-way playmaker (25 catches, 519 yards, 6 TDs on offense; a 71-yard fumble return score on defense) whose ball skills and closing speed were always the selling points. At a listed 162 pounds he has to add mass to survive SEC route-running, and his 2025 work was almost entirely special teams, so the projection is built on traits and pedigree, not a body of college snaps. With no play-by-play tracking data on file, the read stays scouting-grade: high-upside athlete, plus recovery burst, room to grow as a tackler and in run support before he's a trusted every-down corner.
2026 Outlook
LSU
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Cornerback · LSU · editorial
Returning around him
- 7 LSU players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (41 in / 41 out)
2026 Award watch
- Jim Thorpe
LSU · Last season: 7-6 (AP #20) · Talent rank #6 · 2026 recruiting class #11
Perception vs tape
The story in Baton Rouge this offseason isn't Turner — it's the hole around him. With Mansoor Delane gone to the NFL Draft, DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland are the locked-in outside corners, and beat writers covering spring camp were blunt that everything past those two is unproven and undersized.
Read the story →