DAVIE, Fla. — They may be on rival teams now, but Mark Sanchez doesn’t hold back when asked for his assessment of Miami Dolphins rookie receiver Patrick Turner.

“He is going to be a special player,” Sanchez, the New York Jets’ rookie quarterback, says of his former teammate at Southern Cal. “He is going to be great.”
For the past two years, Turner was one of Sanchez’s favorite targets on the Trojans’ perennially loaded roster. And while Sanchez could open the year as the starter in New York and Turner almost certainly will have to wait his turn, those who know Turner best believe he will break through eventually.
Already in his first pro training camp, Turner has caused a stir with his size (6 feet 5), strength (220 pounds), hands and competitive fire. When he beat veteran cornerback Will Allen for a pair of catches in a receiving drill one evening, observers took note.
“I think Patrick Turner’s best days are yet to come,” Sanchez says. “He’s really starting to come into his own and be a dominant receiver, somebody who plays with a lot of effort and intensity, and he’s only going to get better. You haven’t seen his peak yet.”
It’s Turner’s ability to use his height and grab the ball at the peak of his leap that makes him an intriguing option near the goal line.
“Smaller corners have trouble matching up with Big Pat because of his strength off the line,” says former Oregon State cornerback Brandon Hughes, a fifth-round pick of the Chargers. “You’re not going to outmuscle him, that’s for sure. And when the ball is in the air, he attacks it.”
This would seem obvious for a taller receiver, but it’s easier said than done.
“Most big receivers have great size, but they don’t know how to go up and attack the ball,” Hughes says. “I believe every time we played him he had one catch in the end zone where there was nothing you could do about it. You’d go back to the film room and the coaches were all saying the same thing: ’There’s nothing you can do about it.’ “
The sooner Turner can spread that feeling of helplessness among NFL cornerbacks, the sooner he’ll start to pay dividends on that third-round draft pick the Dolphins invested in him.
From his high school days in Madison, Tenn., where he was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country, Turner has grasped the great benefits of his large frame.
“Being a big guy, you have your height,” Turner says. “That’s always an advantage, even in tight coverage. When the ball’s in the air, you can make a play on it by shielding the ball with your body. As far as coming off the line, being a bigger guy, you can kind of swat those (defensive backs) around now and then. You just want to be as physical as possible.”
Speed was supposedly a knock on Turner at the NFL Draft Combine and probably the main reason he slipped out of the top two rounds, but even here his supporters have an answer.
They will tell you there’s a difference between raw speed and functional speed. Turner, they say, definitely has the latter. And he knows how to get open.
“He’s really smart,” says another former Oregon State cornerback Keenan Lewis, a third-round pick of the Steelers in April. “Coming from under guys like Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith and the (former) NFL coaches they have, he was taught really well. He has a strong IQ on the field.”
Turner doesn’t let the doubters such as ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper Jr. get to him. He is clearly someone who is comfortable in his own skin and willing to prove himself over time.
“People are going to say what they want to say,” Turner says. “You can’t do anything about how other people view you. All you can do is be the person you are and do what you did that got you here and just keep playing ball.”