Razorback Roster Rundown: No. 81 Darin Turner

This article is part of a series previewing the Razorbacks’ 2020 football roster.

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Though we recapped the rest of the receivers about a month ago, Darin Turner's old school choice of No. 81 has him near the end of the Roster Rundown.

The true freshman wide receiver was able to enroll at Arkansas for the spring semester with just three other high school signees from the 2020 class. Though he didn't get to go through spring football due to the pandemic, Turner was still able to get a jump on getting in SEC shape.

Though Turner's weight didn't change from the 218 he was listed at on signing day, he's supposedly turned his baby fat into legitimate "grown man" muscle.

"Darin’s worked hard," Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said after winter conditioning. "He’s one of those kids that I think this is the first time he’s ever worked in a strength and conditioning environment like the one that we have, which I think is second to none.

"You can ask him, I think it got after him a little bit early. But I think he was really starting to change his body. I think he’s got a tremendous future. He’s got a lot of bounce in his legs. I was really please with how hard he’s been working. Just talking with Coach Stepp, he’s done a really nice job with all these meetings where he’s retaining information as well."

At 6-foot-3, roughly 218-pounds, Darin Turner is actually the second largest wide receiver on the team behind Treylon Burks at 231. He's almost the exact same size as La'Michael Pettway who led the Hogs in receiving in 2018.

Although it would be nice to have Turner ready to play as a true freshmen, it seems unlikely that he'd play past his four game allotment. With Burks, Trey Knox, Mike Woods, Koilan Jackson, Tyson Morris, De'Vion Warren all returning, it would be nice to redshirt Turner for a season to let him develop and grow.

Woods noted after conditioning that Turner is working hard on technique and "getting better everyday," so maybe he'll surprise and follow in all three starters' footsteps as early contributors.

Recruited by Chad Morris's staff, Darin Turner was the last of eight decommits Arkansas shed after Morris was fired. Once Sam Pittman decided to retain Justin Stepp, it was pretty easy to convince Turner to jump back on board with Arkansas on early National Signing Day.

A two-way athlete, Turner's recruitment started off hot with offers from Clemson, Auburn, in-state Tennessee and more, but Turner committed to the LSU Tigers in March of 2018 slowing things down for him. After his decommitment in April before his senior year, the Razorbacks came on strong and won Turner over.

At 6-foot-3, 195-pounds coming out, Turner was also regarded as a very talented safety at Central High in Memphis but signed with Arkansas as a receiver–the only receiver in the class, in fact.

MORE: Razorback Roster Rundown