Geoff Hobson
DJ Turner II, the Bengals’ lockdown cornerback with the locked-in mindset, is lasered on the voluntary spring exercises and does not have time for such annoying afterthoughts as private objectives.
“I don’t do that kind of thing,” Turner mentioned this week after apply.
Pro Bowl?
“Nope,” Turner mentioned.
Not shocking to place coach Charles Burks, who has overseen each apply snap of all however one Bengals cornerback in his 5 seasons right here and labored the ladder from Division II. None of these gamers, says Burks, has carried out what Turner has.
“This entire journey, he has made the biggest turnaround that I’ve ever seen a player make,” Burks says. “Everything. From routine. To the way he takes care of his body. He’s revamped all of that. It’s amazing.”
As he heads into his fourth season with the fallout of a break-out season swirling (Exhibit A the media horde asking about his contract yr), Turner appears as targeted and pretty much as good as ever. He received his arms on every thing final yr however a Pro Bowl when his 18 passes have been probably the most a Bengals cornerback has defended in 16 seasons, however the one cash he is speaking about is wins.
He may have prolonged his Far East junket till subsequent week’s necessary minicamp and nobody would have mentioned a phrase. But he did not. Extremely sharp since he confirmed up two weeks in the past for the beginning of the on-field work, Burks says, displaying the expertise of 34 NFL begins. The exercises away from the power have additionally confirmed up, as has his command of such particulars as formation recognition and situational consciousness.
“At a high level,” Burks says. “He’s really focused on winning. He knows the personal accolades will come.”
He additionally broke out final season within the locker room, the place he emerged as an ascending younger participant to observe. Safety Jordan Battle, the third-rounder from 2023 who adopted him within the draft, says Turner has been an affect.
“A little bit,” Battle says. “But don’t tell him that.”
They’ve turn into adequate associates that they met up in Japan through the offseason for a number of days to reinforce their data of meditation. Battle admits they are a little bit of an odd couple. Both intense. But whereas Turner simmers, Battle exudes.
“They say opposites attract,” Battle mentioned. “Even though he might not be that vocal guy, maybe I can help him with that, and he can help me be quiet like that at the right time. We’re real cool. We hang a lot outside the building. He knows a lot about me and I know a lot about him.”
Battle likes the way in which Turner performs the sport. He all the time appears to be choosing folks’s brains. But what he additionally likes is that it isn’t nearly soccer.
“He always has people over, always wants to hang out,” Battle says. “Try to get to know people. He relates to my friends back home from that aspect, being able to have somebody I can speak to outside of them. Someone I could trust like DJ. Great player, greater person.”
Burks can see the impression stately Ravens cornerback Chidobe Awuzie had on him through the one season they have been collectively when Turner was a rookie, and now he sees Turner having the identical sort of impression in his room. Turner’s capacity to look inside himself by way of meditation, Burks is aware of, is one thing not many individuals are prepared to do.
“I’m really impressed with him as a player,” Burks says. “I’m more impressed where he’s at as a man.”
Jordan’s Battleplan
If Turner’s not making any objectives, Battle has revealed he’d prefer to be a captain. He’s had some good ones to emulate, and he begins on his facet of the ball with retired defensive finish Sam Hubbard and strikes rapidly to quarterback Joe Burrow.
He additionally factors to 2 former DBs in his room who led so properly and did not all the time put on the ‘C’ in cornerback Mike Hilton and security Michael Thomas, in addition to one who did, security Vonn Bell.
“Sam’s one of the main ones. A guy who did everything the right way. Speaks up when needs to. When things aren’t going right,” Battle says. “Joey B. is a great captain who probably doesn’t say much around you guys (the media), but he says a lot to us in a team environment.
“Mike was extra main the DBs. Vonn was a man doing the appropriate issues off the sector and serving to us that manner.”
Battle has taken a page from Turner’s meditation routine, and says it’s something that has to be done away from the stadium, where there’s simply not much time.
“Practice at residence or off to the facet. Like every thing else, it has to turn into a creature of behavior,” says Battle, who believes it’s a good primer for stadium Sundays. “Not as a lot as (Turner). I do it slightly otherwise. I’m making an attempt to faucet into the thoughts. I’m making an attempt to wire my thoughts slightly otherwise now that I’m getting slightly older.
“The game is 90 percent mental. It’s a mindset going into each game. Who are you going to cover? Who are you going to tackle? Who are you reading most of the game? Meditation helps with that. Helps you focus on one thing.”
The finest frame of mind may also assist choosing the proper phrases on the proper time.
“Being able to calm yourself with encouraging words. Not saying the wrong things at the wrong times and saying the right things at the right times and the thought behind it. Every situation, take a deep breath.”
Slants and Screens
Yes, prime draft decide Cashius Howell, the sting from Texas A&M, is studying these 3-4 linebacker drops. But, let’s face it. The man is right here to get low and bend the sting on the go rush together with his distinctive brief area burst. And he is been speaking to the vet rushers as a lot as dropping.
“Not anything ground-breakingly new, but I have good vets and good guys around me who are able to look at certain ways I rush and critique them in a very intentional way and hone in on the small details,” Howell says. “Things like hand placement, false steps, get-off. The small things so I can be as much as a technician as I can.”
Howell signed his rookie deal final week and admits it is a load off. A great distance from the Bowling Green days.
“It was a good feeling just to put it behind me and not have to worry about anything with finances,” Howell says. “The mindset is still the same. Just come in and do my part every day. Being on time, making sure I’ve got attention on every facet of the game.”
The cash means he should buy one of many homes he is been within the Cincy space for the previous month. He’s not on the lookout for an condo or a condominium. A home.
“I’ve lived in apartments and dorm rooms since freshman year. From Bowling Green to A&M. I’m ready to upgrade and get a house and maybe try to get a dog,” Howell says. “I didn’t want to try and get a house and I’m not financially able to get it.”
Battle says he ate about twice as a lot as regular in Japan throughout his nine-day keep and ended up shedding ten kilos: “It shows you how processed the food is in America.”