Jordan Turner making himself at home at Michigan State: ‘It’s everything I wanted it to be’
East Lansing, Mich. – Before Jordan Turner ever received coaching from Jonathan Smith at Michigan State, the veteran linebacker cut his teeth under one of Smith’s mentors at Wisconsin.
Turner spent four seasons with the Badgers before transferring to Michigan State last winter. The redshirt senior committed to former Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst prior to his graduation from Farmington (Mich.) High School in 2020.
In parts of three seasons under Chryst, Turner rose from a young freshman who chose to redshirt the COVID-shortened 2020 season to the team’s second-leading tackler and an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in 2022.
Chryst, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1989, achieved his greatest coaching success in seven seasons at Wisconsin. The 58-year-old went 65-23 with the Badgers before his firing midway through his eighth year in 2022.
Twenty-five years prior to his firing at Wisconsin, Chryst took his second collegiate job at Oregon State after various stints in the Canadian Football League. It was during his two seasons as the Beavers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach that Chryst first got to know Smith, then a young walk-on quarterback in his first season at Oregon State.
In the eight months since his hiring at Michigan State, Smith has credited Chryst several times for helping him develop as both a player and a coach. But neither Turner nor Smith realized their mutual connection with Chryst until Turner’s official visit to East Lansing last December, when Smith shared a story about his first season as a Beaver.
“(Smith) told me that he wanted to quit during his first fall camp (at Oregon State),” Turner said. “And coach Chryst drove to his crib at midnight to convince him like, ‘I know it’s hard, but I’m going to be here with you.’
“Most coaches, they don’t talk about how hard it’ll be. He was in a position where he wanted to quit, but he stuck (around) and somebody was there for him. It really brings the humility out of him. He’s a real guy and he’s honest and trustworthy.”
Smith went on to start at Oregon State the next season as a redshirt freshman. He maintained his starting job through his senior season in 2001. Over the course of his five-year career at Oregon State, Smith threw for the third-most yards and touchdowns in program history and led the Beavers to their best-ever finish in 2000.
Chryst left Oregon State to become tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers after Smith’s redshirt freshman season in 1998, but Smith continued playing and improving for the Beavers in large part due to Chryst’s influence. That influence carried over into Smith’s coaching style as well.
Turner on Monday echoed several of his Michigan State teammates when he spoke highly of the family atmosphere that Smith has worked to cultivate during his short time in East Lansing. From Turner’s perspective, much of Smith’s culture stems from the principles he learned from Chryst.
“Coach Chryst, he was a family guy,” Turner said. “He brought that family atmosphere, and that’s what I sense from coach Smith. It’s a family. He’s bringing his family stuff with him here.”
When Turner entered the transfer portal last winter, he already knew that Michigan State would land high on his list of possible destinations due to its proximity to his hometown of Farmington Hills, Mich. Meeting Smith and learning about their shared connection with Chryst only added to a visit that helped solidify his confidence in the Spartan program.
“Me and my family, we talk about how (Smith) is like a spitting image of (Chryst),” Turner said. “It’s cool.”
Though Turner didn’t live through Mel Tucker’s firing at Michigan State in 2023, he did experience Chryst’s midseason departure just one year prior. Upon his arrival in East Lansing, Turner learned what many of his new teammates went through last season. He immediately related to their experiences and took it upon himself to become a stabilizing presence in the locker room.
“Coming from that background, (having) been through it and seeing these guys, they’ve been through it, too,” Turner said. “I just want to be that older guy who gives them that sense of security, like, ‘It’s going to be OK.’ The best thing you can do is just put your head down and just grind. Everything’s going to work (out), you can’t be worrying about, ‘Oh, is this going to be good?’ You can’t worry about it. The only thing you can control is how you work, how you grind, how you study the playbook, everything.”
The most important lesson Turner learned from Chryst’s midseason firing was how to adjust on the fly. Turner used this offseason to help his teammates through their own adjustment periods.
“If you’ve been with the same coach your whole career, you’re not really adjusting. It’s just the same routine,” Turner said. “But I had to adjust to new schemes, I had to adjust to new coaching styles, new players. We had a lot of guys leave. We have, like, 60 new guys, so I know how important it is to bring the team together. And it’s not like you had years of the same team. Like, this is the first year. So just trying to do that in seven months, eight months before the season starts. Kind of just being there for them and letting them know that it’s going to be OK, we just have to come (together).”
Now acclimated to his new surroundings at Michigan State, Turner has begun to reflect on joining a program he thought he’d call home four years earlier.
Earlier this offseason, Turner said that Michigan State was the first program to recruit him out of Farmington High School. However, Mark Dantonio and the Spartans didn’t offer Turner until late in the process. Two months later, Turner settled on a top five list that included Louisville, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin.
But Turner’s appreciation for Michigan State never waned, and he’s glad that he gets to call himself a Spartan for his last season of college football.
“It’s everything that I thought it was going to be when I made my decision to come here,” Turner said of Michigan State. “The atmosphere is wonderful in the locker room, the coaches, everybody, the support staff. It’s just everything that I wanted it to be for my last year.”
Turner specifically noted that he wants to help Michigan State’s defense get back to the level he grew accustomed to while watching Dantonio’s teams as a high schooler.
“Coming through high school, getting to watch the defense growing up, I always knew they had a stout defense,” Turner said. “They were always known for how gritty they played. I’m just excited that I get to play in this type of era again.
“I’m just so happy. I’m playing in front of my hometown, my home state. It’s everything I can dream of, man. I just can’t wait to show it off with my boys.”
Michigan State’s Jordan Turner participates in a drill during the Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing – Nick King, USA TODAY Sports
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