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EAGAN, Minn. (AP) As the were finalizing a , head coach Kevin O'Connell eagerly laid out a vision for the rising star left tackle and his long-term potential to help elevate the entire offense.The more immediate task and benefit to the team has presented itself in each steamy practice during training camp: testing Dallas Turner.The Vikings have big plans for their new edge rusher, the 17th overall pick in the draft out of Alabama who has the potential to make as much of a first-year impact as anyone in the 's rookie cla s. That of course includes quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Adam Ottavino Jersey the more heralded but le s refined first-rounder the Vikings added during a pivotal offseason for their competitive trajectory and the parallel careers of O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah entering their third year together.Dallas loves football, so every day is a new day. He always has a smile on his face, but its not a smile that I would recommend taking as giddy or taking things lightly. Its a smile that he has bad intentions to do some things on a daily basis, OConnell said this week. Its one that Im OK seeing because I get to wear a whistle and a polo shirt.ADVERTISEMENT Darrisaw has been giving Turner regular le sons in profe sional pa s protection, but Turner has had plenty of moments himself to shine under the afternoon sun at the TCO Performance Center.Hes going to be a great rusher, and every day were making each other better," Darrisaw said. Hes a smart kid. He wants it all, and you can tell every day he comes out here giving his all.Darrisaw has taken a liking to Turner, who's listed at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, and he'll often pull the 21-year-old aside as they walk off the field to compare notes on technique and strategy. Turner isn't shy about offering tips, either.Just stacking days. You know it aint going to be perfect, but day by day, youre going to get a little dub, a little sack, which is nice," Turner said. Were working every day, grinding, talking, learning.Turner's father, Delon Turner, was a basketball player who left Florida A&M in 1993 as the program's second-leading scorer and played the sport for 11 years overseas. Delon Turner worked on Wall Street and in wealth management before founding a venture capital firm, 7even Hills, in which Dallas Turner became an investor in while in college with some of his name, image and likene s money.Turner grew up in the Miami area and first fell in love with pa s rushing as a freshman at American Heritage High School, where his coach, former NFL star Pat Surtain, initiated the switch from wide receiver. Add all that background up, and the maturity and savvine s that Turner carries himself with become clear attributes along with the obvious drive on the field.You kind of forget sometimes that hes a rookie, just knowing the amount of information from, really, day one. I think we knew he was smart. We knew he had been coached well, but then you get him here and you get him in the meeting room setting and you see how well hes handling not only basic installations that most rookies are asked to do, but youre hearing him ask some questions that are very telling about where hes able to go, O'Connell said.The third defensive player taken in the draft, after the quarterbacks and wide receivers dominated the top of the board, Turner has given defensive coordinator Brian Flores plenty of options for using him in the blitz-heavy scheme. With free agent signings Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, the Vikings have significantly remodeled their pa s rush following the departure of star Danielle Hunter and fellow edge rushers D.J. Wonnum and Marcus Davenport. I want to give a shoutout to the University of Alabama for just coaching me and building me into the player I am today. Pa s rushing wasnt the first priority at the school I went to, so we had to learn how to do a whole bunch of other things, like stop the run, drop back in coverage, guard people and be physical, more importantly, Turner said. I feel like a lot of that stuff translated over to the NFL.___AP NFL: Troy Tulowitzki Jersey |
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