For a player that no one knew even existed a couple of months ago, Wide Receiver KaVontae Turpin has come a long way. Turpin is a newer player in the NFL but has already gained some national attention early on. This article will look at what he’s achieved throughout his career.
Early in Turpin’s life, he attended Neville High School located in Monroe Louisiana. In his last year with the Tigers, Turpin had some amazing stats such as 1,928 all-purpose yards and All-NELA Big School Offensive Player of the Year honors. These were great stats that helped put him on the map for college recruiters.
As he was starting to look for colleges, Turpin became a three-star recruit and soon committed to Texas Christian University. Texas Tech University also wanted him but after little debate, Turpin went with the horned frogs.
In 2015 (Turpin’s freshman year) he played in 5 of 13 games for the frogs. One stat that outshined others was that in a 50-7 win over Texas, Turpin had four total touchdowns. This broke the Big 12 record for most touchdowns in a single game by a freshman.
Over the next three years, Turpin became a household name for TCU fans for being arguably the best return man in TCU history. His six total career special teams touchdowns were the most in TCU history. He had 145 catches and 1,748 yards during his time at TCU.
Sounds like a really good athlete, I wonder if he’ll get drafted. Nope, sadly as the 2019 NFL draft approached, Turpin never heard his name get called by scouts. Turpin didn’t give up though, after not getting drafted, he decided to sign up for the IFL (Indoor Football League). As he was getting ready to start playing football again, another unthinkable action occurred.
The IFL was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. A real soul crusher for the receiver. While most people in this state would move on and try something else, Turpin stuck with his passion. In 2021 Turpin was a member of three football teams that were all in different leagues.
Turpin joined the FCF Glacier Boyz which is a 7-on-7 indoor football league. After a few games, he would join the Panthers Wroclaw (ELF) which is a European Football league that takes place in Poland… Yes, a very strange twist to this story. Anyway, after winning 3 of his 4 games there with great stats, Turpin signed up for the USFL, a much more well-known football division that’s not based overseas.
The New Jersey Generals grabbed a hold of Turpin in the 13th round of the 2022 USFL Draft and welcomed him aboard. He led the league with 44 receptions of 540 yards. He also had 12 punt returns for 184 yards and one touchdown. Little did he know, his dream would finally be accomplished.
After years of having a dream to play in the NFL, Turpin finally did it. The Dallas Cowboys had him sign a three-year contract in July of 2022. Even with all of his accomplishments, his name was not yet known… Until August 20th, 2022 in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
He would soon become a well-known punt returner as he scored two touchdowns in that single game off of punt and kick returns. His story doesn’t end there as he has become the #1 return man for the Cowboys now.
KaVontae Turpin is a great example of never giving up. If you are good at something, you should keep trying to achieve it and never stop. KaVontae has shown the world how to do that.
