Turner, a 6-foot-3, 265 lb. defensive lineman, made 27.5 tackles in 2010, including five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He was also second on the Gaiters with three passes knocked down and also forced a fumble. In four years, he has made 71 tackles, including 15 for losses.
The Brampton, Ont., native also had a strong performance at the CFL Evaluation camp last month in Toronto. He led all defensive linemen in three categories, as he posted a 37-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-1 long jump, and a time of 4.28 seconds in the shuttle drill.
'Having coached him at defensive line, I believe that his skills and technical ability are at the level of a professional athlete' said Leroy Blugh, the Gaiters' head coach and a 15-year CFL veteran. 'Junior is the first in a line of defensive linemen that the Gaiters will send to the next level.'
Turner is the second-ranked defensive lineman, trailing only Vaughn Martin, who is currently with the NFL's San Diego Chargers, and is the top-ranked Quebec University Football League draft prospect.
This is the third consecutive year that a Gaiter has appeared in the final CFL rankings, following Jamall Lee and James Yurichuk in 2009 and Shawn Gore and Steven Turner - Junior Turner's cousin - in 2010. Lee, Yurichuk and Gore were all drafted by the B.C. Lions, while Steven Turner went to the Toronto Argonauts.
Since the CFL began listing top prospects in 2009, only Bishop's and Queen's have had a player appear on each final list. With an overall total of five players listed, Bishop's is tied with Calgary for the all-time lead in prospects, and has had almost as many players listed (5) as the rest of the QUFL combined (6).
'Having someone the top prospect list gives credit to the calibre of our program over the last four years,' said Blugh. 'We have become competitive on a national level.'
Turner will look to join the seven Gaiters currently active in the CFL, including Lee, Yurichuk, Gore and Dan McCullough (all B.C.), Kyle Jones and Justin Conn (Montreal), and Steven Turner (Toronto).
The 2010 CFL Draft is set for Sunday, May 8 at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern). The first two rounds will be broadcast on TSN, with the remaining four rounds updated in real time on www.cfl.ca.
(With files from the CFL)
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Canadian Football League Amateur Scouting Bureau
Top 15 Draft Prospects [last ranking]
1. Scott Mitchell OL Rice [2]
2. Anthony Parker SB Calgary [3]
3. Henoc Muamba LB StFX [10]
4. Philip Blake OL Baylor [1]
5. Tyler Holmes OL Tulsa [5]
6. Vaughn Martin DL Western Ontario [4]
7. Nathan Coehoorn WR Calgary [7]
8. Hugh O'Neill P/K Alberta [11]
9. Marco Iannuzzi WR Harvard [-]
10.nullnbsp; Moe Petrus OL Connecticut [6]
11. Matt O'Donnell OL Queen's [8]
12. Junior Turner DL Bishop's [-]
13. Anthony Barrette OL Concordia [13]
14. nullnbsp;nullnbsp; Matt Walter RB Calgary [14]
15. Paul Swiston OL Calgary [-]
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Canadian Football League Amateur Scouting Bureau
Total Draft Prospects by school
5 players - Bishop's, Calgary
3 players - Concordia, Queen's
2 players - Alberta, Baylor, Montreal, Regina, StFX
1 player - Acadia, UConn, Guelph, Harvard, Laval, Manitoba, Michigan St., Nevada, Ottawa, Rice, Saskatchewan, Stanford, Toronto, Tulsa, Washington St., Waterloo, Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor.
QUFL Schools underlined
(NOTE: CFL started rankings for the 2009 Canadian Draft. 2009 rankings included only CIS schools, rankings from 2010 onward include American schools)
