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Update on the status of Florida Gators safety Asa Turner

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi07/28/25ZachAbolverdi
Asa-Turner-Florida-Gators
Florida Gators safety Asa Turner. (Catherine McCarthy/UAA Photo)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators open training camp this week and safety Asa Turner is back with the program. The seventh-year senior rejoined the team this summer and participated in workouts, Gators Online has learned.

Turner recently lifted 365 pounds on bench press, which is the team record for the safety position. Despite his return to workouts, Turner’s availability in training camp and his role on defense moving forward is to be determined.

Turner hasn’t practiced or played since his season-ending hamstring injury in the 2024 opener and was out for all of spring camp. He will likely be under a return-to-play protocol to get reacclimated at practice.

Turner needs to work his way back and make it through training camp healthy before his role this season will be determined. If he’s able to play, that could provide some much-needed depth and experience at safety.

The Gators return both starters, juniors Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton, and have a pair of true freshmen behind them in early enrollees Drake Stubbs and Loganza Hayward, both of whom were top-100 recruits.

RELATED: 2025 Position Preview: Florida Gators Safeties

Turner’s first year at UF was cut short was after one game. He suffered a right hamstring injury vs. Miami and had offseason surgery to repair it.

Turner was granted an extra year of eligibility in March, but Florida coach Billy Napier said his role and health were “to be determined.”

“He’s career has been extended for a year, and then we’ll kind of see where we end up,” Napier said of Turner at Florida’s Pro Day. “He’s a guy who’s had injury issues through his career, not only here but also at Washington. But great kid, very smart, very dependable. Just gotta work on the durability piece.”

Turner was one of the top transfers in Florida’s 2024 class and earned the starting job at strong safety. After getting hurt against the Hurricanes, he tried to work his way back from the injury. Turner was upgraded to questionable for the Tennessee and Kentucky games, and Napier was “hopeful to get him back” on Oct. 28, but he was listed as out from the Georgia week on.

Turner, a five-year starter at Washington, has 147 career tackles and six interceptions. He was the No. 11 safety and No. 165 overall transfer in the On3 Industry rankings. The 2020 season doesn’t count against Turner, who started five games as a freshman in 2019, took a redshirt year in 2023 and received a medical hardship waiver for last year.

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