Asa Turner is working to make you remember his name.
Not “Turner.”
Only Asa.
The 6-foot-3, 201-pound safety made an immediate impact in UW’s 45-20 victory over Kent State on Saturday, jumping a slant for an interception on the season’s opening play. He added a second pick in the third quarter as well, rolling out of bounds with the ball at the Husky 5-yard line. A fourth-year junior from Carlsbad, California, Asa finished with five tackles and a pair of picks.
He did it with three letters — “ASA” — printed in bold gold across his shoulder blades.
“There was a lot behind it,” Asa said Tuesday, when asked why he replaced his last name with his first name on his jersey this fall. “My parents got divorced in seventh grade. Around eighth grade I for the most part stopped talking to my dad. That’s his last name, Turner.
“Ever since then I decided to step out on my own. I don’t have a last name I’m going to change it to yet, but when I do [legally change my name] I’m going to change it on the back of my jersey as well. Coach [Kalen] DeBoer was nice, letting me do that. I’m just putting Asa there in the meantime.”
But don’t misunderstand: Family remains a driving force. When Asa enrolled at Washington in 2019, his mother (Diane) and little sister (Dylan) moved with him to Seattle. He’s close with his older brother (Dakota) and sister (Carson) as well.
In a sense, he’s stepping out on his own. But he isn’t doing so alone.
“Shoot, right after my second pick I pointed up to [my mom]. She was sitting right up there in the family section by the scoreboard,” he said, motioning to the northwest corner of Husky Stadium. “She’s big-time, for sure. Her and my little sister are willing to change their last name to whatever I decide, too. They moved up here for me. We’re one family.”
Which might explain the motivation behind Asa’s unrelenting routine. When asked Monday about his veteran safety’s work ethic, DeBoer joked: “I swear he is living somewhere in this building. He’s got a bed; he’s got his dresser; he’s got all his clothes somewhere in this building.
“He is here nonstop, all day every day. That’s not just this fall. That was this spring. That was this winter. He’s doing treatment on his body to make sure that the next day of practice he’s feeling good. It might be watching film on his own, and it’s coming up to ask a coach a question about the film he’s watching. He’s in the weight room stretching. He’s getting some extra lifts on his own by himself. That preparation leads to confidence.”
Added co-defensive coordinator William Inge: “He is probably the one person who is in this building more than the janitors. He does a great job of preparing, studying film, getting with his teammates, having questions, talking through things. You can see that the preparation he put in created confidence on game day and allowed him to be able to play with a lot of swag.”
On Tuesday, Asa estimated that he arrived at the football facility at 5:30 a.m. and would likely leave at 9:30 or 10 p.m. He’s routinely spending 16 to 17 hours on campus.
When he leaves, it’s just to sleep.
“I’m up there with the GAs and coaches. I’ve damn near got my own desk up there. Where the scouts [analysts] watch film, I just watch on their computers,” said Asa, whose Huskies host Portland State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I’ve definitely got my own place, but I’m not there a lot. Shoot, I’m just there to rest. All I need is a bed.”
And yet, some continue to sleep on the former four-star safety. Though the two-time Pac-12 academic honor roll member has produced 75 tackles, seven passes defended and six interceptions in 27 games (and 14 starts), his physicality has been called into question. Can Asa — who nearly accepted an offer to play linebacker at Notre Dame — become a technician and intimidator at the point of attack?
He did extra bag and footwork drills following Tuesday’s interviews to effectively answer that question.
“I’m definitely trying to be an all-around football player, for sure,” he said. “I’m a bigger body, so I should be better at tackling. I should bring a little bit harder hits. So I’m working on that. After practice I’m about to get that in. I feel like I have to be a sure tackler, and it’s something I’ve been working on throughout spring ball, fall camp and now in the season, too.”
The work, of course, never actually ends. At 12:30 p.m. Aug. 30, Asa stood alone on the Husky Stadium turf, backpedaling shirtless while teammates exited up the northwest tunnel. A formal practice was already complete, and an individual overtime was under way.
Four days later he snared an interception on the season’s opening play. He did so with a different name on his back. But Asa’s purpose, and preparation, are nothing new.
“I like to bring it back to this one moment I had, Stanford week my freshman year,” he said. “I was backup nickel, just because they wanted to put me somewhere [on the depth chart] so I could travel. I’m calling out routes [on the sideline] while Elijah Molden’s playing nickel.
“I’ve been preparing hard and working hard since I got here. It’s just time to let it shine.”