Offensive lineman top WAC player

Tim Graham

Friday, Aug. 1, 1997 | 10:46 a.m.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Don't tell Kyle Turley he can't do it. Not only will he prove you wrong, he will make you look bad in doing so.

He was told by his college of choice he was not good enough. He was told by his eventual school he was not big enough. He was told by the college football community he did not deserve the recognition he felt was due.

Turley heard each warning and ignored it. Now the San Diego State senior offensive tackle is called the best football player in the Western Athletic Conference and is the leading candidate for the Outland Trophy, annually given to the country's top collegiate lineman.

"I like to think I've worked hard," Turley said during an informal interview Thursday at the WAC football media preview at the Dallas-Fort Worth Hyatt Regency. "What drives me is I want to be able to look myself in the mirror every day and see the hardest-working offensive lineman in the nation. I don't take a day off. If I do, there's some other guy up on me.

"I just have to get other people to believe."

The confident-but-far-from-cocky Turley is turning heads both on and off the field. The art major looks as if he just stepped off the pages of a Roman mythology book. He is 6-foot-6, 305 pounds with a chin of granite and would be a natural as an action movie star.

But he is no pretty boy.

"He has a nastiness to his play," Aztecs coach Ted Tollner said. "Kyle has a burning desire to excel. He likes to play through the whistle.

"I'll be shocked if he's not one of the top offensive linemen in next year's NFL draft."

Turley, a right-side starter since his sophomore season, has allowed 5 1/2 sacks on 823 pass plays. He has blocked for two 1,000-yard rushers in Wayne Pittman and George Jones.

Turley further impresses NFL scouts with his weightroom exploits. He bench presses 405 pounds, leg presses 1,300 pounds and power cleans 355 pounds.

"I petitioned the NFL to come out as a junior, and they came back with a third-round rating, and they're usually conservative with that," Turley said. "The way the draft worked out, I probably could have gone in the second round with all the linemen that were taken.

"The money is very tempting, but I knew I had a lot of people in my corner, telling me it would be to my advantage to stay."

Former Dallas Cowboys player personnel director Gil Brandt, attending the preview in an attempt to recruit players for the East-West Shrine Game, called Turley an "automatic" first-round draft pick next year. Brandt also claims that if Turley has a superb senior season, he would be the first offensive lineman selected.

"He is going to be a wealthy man," Brandt said.

Turley, the son of former Brigham Young backup quarterback John Turley, was born in Provo, Utah. Although the family eventually moved to California, Kyle, a devout Mormon, wanted to play for BYU. But the Cougars forwarded his transcripts to Ricks Junior College in Idaho.

Turley chose SDSU instead, over Iowa State and Fresno State. He reported as a 230-pound freshman defensive end. Coaches told him he wasn't big enough and switched him to the other side of scrimmage.

"I did what it took, and it's something I did without illegal substances," Turley said 75 hulking pounds later. "That's something nobody can ever take away from me, the pride of doing something like that."

After showing he was far from too small, Turley demonstrated his skill. Under the tutelage of offensive line coach Ed White, a four-time Pro Bowler with the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers, Turley became a first-team All-WAC selection last year after making the second team the season before.

That, however, was not enough. The main reason he opted to wait on the draft was to garner attention in a conference known for flashy position players.

"The WAC is not known for their offensive line," Turley said. "They're known for their quarterbacks. They're known for their running backs. They're known for their receivers. It's tough for me.

"I felt I should have gotten more attention last year than I did. But being in the WAC you expect it. I knew I would get that attention this year and do a lot of things linemen in the WAC don't get to do. I don't think there's been a premier guy on the offensive line in this conference for a while."

He also returned to avenge last year's crushing defeat to UNLV, when the winless Rebels knocked the Aztecs out of the postseason picture with a stunning, last-second victory at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV goes to San Diego Oct. 18.

Once he leaves school, however, Turley will continue to be told he can't do what he wants. He is likely to be told he can't be the best at the next level, too.

"I want to be the best lineman in the history of the NFL," he said. "It's in my play, my work ethic and the beliefs that I have. I don't limit myself to any one thing."