TCU wide receiver and returner KaVontae Turpin won the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week award for the third time in his career for his efforts in the return game Saturday in TCU’s 43-0 beatdown of Kansas.
Yup. ??⏰⌚️⏳ #TurpinTime pic.twitter.com/wuyEP417yA
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) October 23, 2017
Turpin returned a punt 90-yards to the end zone for a touchdown, bobbing and weaving his way through the Jayhawk punt coverage unit until he found some daylight. It equaled the second-longest in TCU history, and it was the third punt return touchdown of his career, tying him with Linzy Cole and Blanard Spearman for the most all-time by a Horned Frog.
You’ll be seeing this #TurpinTime return a lot more we think! #SCTop10 #BeatKU pic.twitter.com/tADpMzdZnc
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) October 22, 2017
“Every time he [Turpin] touches the ball I think he’s going to score, and whenever we give it to him, I sit back and watch because I know something amazing is about to happen,” TCU quarterback Kenny Hill said. “He backs it up with that punt return for a touchdown, and it’s unbelievable because I have never seen anything like that. I thought he was tackled at the four.”
Turpin leads the conference and is seventh nationally with his 16.3-yard average on punt returns.
It’s the third time in Turpin’s career he’s garnered Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades. The junior is also TCU’s leading receiver this season with 23 catches.
“You try to get him the ball as much as you can because you know he’s going to make something happen,” Hill said.
Turpin had his second career punt return for a touchdown against Kansas the last time the Horned Frogs hosted the Jayhawks in 2015, reversing the entire field on a 49-yard sprint.
He also had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in last year’s season opener against South Dakota State last, giving him two of the eight-longest in TCU history.
Turpin and No. 4 TCU return to action in Ames, Iowa against No. 25 Iowa State Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
