Julian Turney is known for thinking quickly on his feet.
As a running back who leads a wildcat offense on the football field, the Saint Augustine Preparatory School senior needs to draw up a plan in his mind before the ball is snapped — and make adjustments accordingly.
He approached his college recruiting process the same way.
Turney will attend and play football at the United States Naval Academy next year. It’s a plan he didn’t quite have in the forefront of his mind a year ago, but he jumped at the opportunity when it came around.
Turney had several other Division 1 offers including Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Conn.; Bryant University, Smithfield, R.I.; Morgan State University, Baltimore; and the University of Maine (ROTC) in Maine. But Turney clicked with Navy’s coaching staff and decided Annapolis would be his new home.
“The running back coach, Coach [David] Cole at Navy, had a long talk with me and my parents,” Turney said. “He told me about all the great benefits after I graduate. That really turned the tables, and my parents were all for it.”
Turney and his parents were on the same page. But that wasn’t always the case when it came to football, which Turney started playing in first grade.
“At first, my mom didn’t want me playing,” Turney said. “But my brother played, and I always wanted to be like him.”
His brother, Jalen Turney, was also a running back, but played at Oakcrest High School before graduating in 2019. Jalen is now in medical school.
“He played running back also, and he played defensive back, so I was always studying him,” Julian Turney said. “I learned a lot from him.”
Turney’s teammates are learning a lot from him. Saint Augustine Prep is 5-3 this season.
“He’s an awesome young man,” Hermits coach Pete Lancetta said. “He has tremendous character and is a hard worker. As a player, as a person and as a student, he’s the whole package.”
Turney is coming off one of the most productive rushing seasons in school history, with 1,292 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. It ranked sixth in school history for single season rushing yards. This year, Turney has 788 yards and eight touchdowns through eight games. He needs just 44 rushing yards to eclipse 3,000 for his career. At six feet, 220 pounds, it shouldn’t be too hard to capture.
Turney had planned on studying finance at the next level, but that, too, may have shifted. The Naval Academy is known for its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program.
“I’m not sure yet,” Turney said of his course of study. “I still need to figure out what I want to do.”
For the next four years, however, one of his jobs will likely be racking up tons of rushing yards for the Naval Academy.
“We keep going to him, and he plays his heart out for us,” Lancetta said. “He’s a physical runner. He’ll be that one back that they use at the academy banging up on the inside. He’ll fit right in there.”
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