Provo native Kirk Turley is a preseason All-America football pick, perhaps the top marquee player in the Western Athletic Conference, the son of a one-time Brigham Young University quarterback and a member of the LDS Church.
But wait - he's quite different from what that background may imply. Turley's a 6-foot-6, 305-pound offensive tackle - not some hot-shot quarterback - and a fifth-year San Diego State senior who hates BYU."I don't like BYU," said a grinning Turley during the recent WAC Football Media Preview in Dallas. "If you're in the WAC and don't play there, then that's the team to beat."
It's not like he doesn't have the storied bloodlines to have played and starred in Provo. His father, John Turley, was a highly sought-after prep quarterback at Paradise Valley in Arizona who accepted a full-ride scholarship to play at BYU in the pre-LaVell Edwards era. After a first season on the junior varsity, John Turley opted to serve an LDS mission to Guatemala. But he returned without a scholarship waiting - it would still be some time before the Cougar football program would start the practice of setting aside scholarships for athletes returning from missions.
John Turley instead turned to getting a degree and getting married - and having son Kyle born Sept. 24, 1975, while still in Provo. Kyle lived his first six years in Provo until his family moved to Washington, and then four years later, to California.
Ironically, Turley almost missed out on his collegiate call to fame, since the three-year prep wrestling star didn't play high school football until having to be convinced by a coach to come out for his senior season. He still earned first-team all-league honors at Valley View High in Moreno Valley, Calif.
Among the numerous teams recruiting Turley, BYU was still making a play for the Provo native. But in Turley's mind, the Cougars seemed to lose interest - maybe it was his 230-pound frame or his limited playing experience. "I wasn't sure what they were looking for," said Turley, who added that he sensed BYU bumped him down the ladder for Ricks College recruiters to pursue. "For them to do that was kind of disappointing."
San Diego State seemed a perfect fit for the avid surfer and self-labeled "beach guy", who has bulked up from his 230-pound freshman frame to his current 305. He bench presses 405 pounds and has a 32-inch vertical jump - and NFL scouts are already drooling. He's listed on preseason All-America lists already and The Sporting News tabbed him as the best tackle in the country.
Turley has started 25 consecutive games in three seasons. He has been charged with just 5.5 quarterback sacks in the past two seasons - SDSU coaches give a lineman a sack if the quarterback is downed within the first four seconds after the ball is snapped - with the Aztecs having called 823 pass plays in that period.
This year, Turley again will try to help take SDSU to a title level, a door they've knocked on but not passed through the past two seasons. And he'll be hoping to break new ground for the WAC interior linemen - not only in league games but with national-exposure opportunities against the likes of Washington, Arizona and Wisconsin this season.
"I feel like I do carry a banner for the linemen in the Western Athletic Conference," said Turley, mindful of the reputation of BYU quarterbacks, San Diego State wide-outs and Fresno State and Colorado State defensive backs. "You never see the (WAC linemen) who are the first- and second-round picks."
And he would love to conclude the regular season with a return to the BYU-San Diego State rivalry days, when upward of 100 to 200 relatives and friends would be in the stands. But with the expanded WAC, the only way the Cougars and Aztecs can meet is in the league championship game in Las Vegas in early December.
"I would love to finish out my college career in a championship playoff game against BYU - it would be a dream come true," Turley said. "But we won't have a chance to play them if we don't make the championship game."