In an age where top high school prospects expect to play early and often, and now more than ever look to transfer when things don’t go their way, it is refreshing to see a player’s hard work and patience pay off as a senior.

Such has been the case for Maryland senior wide receiver DJ Turner.

After playing sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, Turner earned a spot in Maryland’s starting lineup at wide receiver following the conclusion of fall camp last season. But Turner’s starting role was short lived, as he ended up playing in just eight games with three starts in 2018, finishing with 13 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown.

Fast forward to last week and Turner not only earned the starting nod at slot receiver to begin his senior season, but also served as the Terps’ starting punt returner. It was in the return game where the five-foot-9, 210-pounder shined in the Terps’ 79-0 season-opening win over Howard, taking a punt 40 yards for a touchdown.

“It felt great,” Turner said of his special teams touchdown Tuesday after practice. “Once fourth down came, I told someone on the sideline I'm gonna try my best to take this one back. Then when I caught the ball, I see that I had a little bit of space and I was like, 'alright.' It was just me and the punter at one point and I was like, I couldn't let the punter tackle me. It was a great feeling, though.”

Returning kicks isn’t anything new for Turner, a Glenarden, Md. native who starred at DeMatha High School, just a short drive down Rt. 1 from College Park.

“I did it in high school, all four years,” said Turner. “This is my first time actually getting an opportunity to play punt returner in a game. I've practiced it since I was a freshman, so its not completely new to me, but it is kind of a different experience.”

Fellow senior and former DeMatha teammate Terrance Davis has seen Turner make big plays since early in his high school career and was not surprised at all to see him finally getting his chance to shine.

“Well DJ has been doing this since high school,” said Davis. “You know he went to high school with me. He’s one of the best playmakers I know. So really, we have just been focusing on getting him the ball in space and he’s just showing the world what he can do. He’s finally got his opportunity, he’s been behind some really good guys at receiver and now it’s his turn and he’s taking advantage of it.”

Despite playing a small number of snaps on offense last Saturday, Turner also recorded his first catch of the season in the Terps’ win over Howard and has quickly developed a rapport with new starting quarterback Josh Jackson.

“He was my host on my official, so since then we’ve been close,” said Jackson. “He’s a guy you can just get the ball and he can make a lot of things happen with it. I know he didn’t have as many touches as he wanted, but I’m sure that will change in the coming times this season. But he’s a great receiver, a great punt returner, so I think he’ll continue to have a great season.”

While waiting for his opportunity hasn’t been easy, Turner never lost sight of the fact that his time would come at Maryland.

“It is kind of hard,” said Turner. “But at the same time you just got to have faith that your time will come at some point. And I kind of knew that that would happen and everything would work out for me. Now, it's like I got the opportunity, that's what I've been waiting for so I just gotta take full advantage of it.

Things have seemingly aligned about as well as Turner could have hoped for his final season at Maryland. After recruiting Turner to College Park as interim coach back in 2015, Michael Locksley is now his head coach and his former high school head coach, Elijah Brooks, is now a part of the Maryland staff, which Turner says has made it feel like more of a family environment and made him feel more comfortable.

Before signing with Maryland but while already committed to the Terps, there was a time when Turner considered taking an official visit to Syracuse due to all of the coaching changes in College Park. But in the end, it was about the name on the front of the jersey and what it represented that mattered most to Turner.

“Just the fact that I wanted to play for my home state,” Turner said. “It wasn't necessarily the coaching staff or anything like that. I just wanted to represent the state I grew up in and play in front of my family and friends.”