‘I’m gone’: Alabama LB Turner to enter NFL draft

Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff WriterJan 1, 2024, 11:00 PM ET
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- Covers the SEC.
- Joined ESPN in 2012.
- Graduate of Auburn University.

PASADENA, Calif. — Alabama standout edge rusher Dallas Turner, a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, said following Monday night’s loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl that he will forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the draft.

“I’m gone,” the junior told ESPN. “Ain’t no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Turner, whom ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranks as the No. 11 best available player in the upcoming draft, finished the season with 50 tackles, nine sacks and two forced fumbles.

But like the rest of his Alabama teammates, Turner struggled to pressure Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in Pasadena. The Crimson Tide had only one sack and no QB hurries.

Turner pointed out afterward, “I don’t always rush the quarterback.”

“Why?” he added. “I don’t know. I just do what I’m told.”

Turner was visibly frustrated.

“It sucks knowing that I won’t win what I came here for, you know?” he said. “I came here to be a national championship and I won’t never be a national champion.”

Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, Kiper’s No. 22-rated prospect, said he hadn’t made a decision about whether he’ll return next season.

“I’ll get back and talk to my family and see how I go from there,” he said.

But Alabama should have its starting quarterback, Jalen Milroe, back.

Milroe, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in his first season as the starter, announced last month on the “The Next Round” show that he would return for his senior season.