The next Aaron Donald? Kobie Turner focused on creating own legacy for Rams

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Kobie Turner was a little salty.

Last February, soon after he learned that Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. had won Defensive Rookie of the Year — even though Turner had led all rookies in sacks while playing nose tackle — he reached out to Rams teammate Aaron Donald.

After talking with Donald, who retired in March as one of the best defensive players in NFL history, Turner spent a week in Pittsburgh training with defensive line guru Al "Poodie" Carson, an instructor of the Israeli martial art called Krav Maga. Years ago, a video of Carson training Donald while working with fake knives made waves on social media.

Carson also spent time in L.A. working with Turner and other Rams offensive and defensive linemen just before the start of training camp.

"It helps to slow the game down," Turner said about the training. "It helps you to know now when you feel different things, how to respond."

Turner is moving from nose tackle to 3-technique defensive tackle — the position Donald played for the past decade, earning 10 straight Pro Bowls and three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Turner led all defensive tackles in sacks (9) and defensive pressures (27) in 2023. His nine sacks tied a franchise rookie record set by Donald in 2014. According to Next Gen Stats, Turner's pressure rate of 10.5% was the third-highest of any rookie defensive tackle with at least 250 pass rushes since 2018, trailing only 2023 first-round pick Jalen Carter (12.3%) and second-round pick Christian Barmore (10.8%).

The trick for Turner this year will be making the position his own rather than trying to mimic Donald, who took over games in an otherworldly, freakish way. 

"It's hard in a way, and it's easy in a way," Turner told FOX Sports. "It's easy because nobody is going to do what Aaron does. He is the greatest to ever do it for a reason. I hope to be able to build up to playing nearly as well as he did, but I have a different skill set. I have a different way of approaching the game. There's a ton of differences."

To that end, Turner said he focused this offseason on improving his conditioning, with the expectation of playing more than the 697 defensive snaps he logged last year. Along with that, Turner worked to have a better understanding of Donald's position and a more intimate knowledge of new defensive coordinator Chris Shula's defense.

"I know at times I can put a lot of pressure on myself to be everything," Turner said. "Not even to be AD, but to make all the plays I feel like I can make, or to play everything perfect.

"So, it's just continuing to give myself grace. And then I know as the season goes, too, everyone on the outside might want to compare how I'm doing to how he's done and things like that. But I think it's about staying within this building, staying within myself and doing the things I can do and maximizing the opportunities that I have."

Turner has a new defensive line coach to help him reach those goals in Giff Smith, who served in the same role for the Los Angeles Chargers and worked as the interim head coach when Brandon Staley was fired during the season last year. Smith served as a mentor for former Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson, who is now the co-defensive coordinator for USC. 

"The biggest thing when I got here that was so exciting is the natural leadership qualities," Smith said about Turner, who was voted a defensive co-captain this year. "Because that was a concern with AD leaving, obviously, that void. But he does it in his own way, and he's a mature enough kid that he can handle it.

"He's an absolute stud of a player. But he's probably a better person than he is a player."

Smith coached some talented players while with the Chargers, including Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. And he lamented missing the opportunity to coach Donald.

"I call it the Giff Smith luck," joked Smith. "I get the job, and the greatest defensive tackle ever to play the game retires."

However, Smith will get the benefit of having Donald occasionally stop by practice to lend his voice. Donald attended the Rams' joint practice against the Dallas Cowboys last month.

"Selfishly, for our unit it's huge," Smith said. "Especially for a guy like [rookie DE Braden] Fiske, to be able to bounce some ideas and learn some tricks from him. So, for us, there's not a price tag you can put on it. I think for [Donald], I think it's awesome during that transition during the next phase of your life that you still get a little taste of being around the guys and being around ball."

Turner won't replace Donald's production by himself. Edge rusher Byron Young returns after totaling eight sacks last year as a rookie. And the Rams drafted two explosive pass rushers in Jared Verse in the first round and Fiske in the second round, both out of Florida State.

"He reminds me a lot of Joey [Bosa]," Smith said about Verse. "From the standpoint of he's a true, tunnel-vision attack and can win the one-on-ones. He has the ability to close out games, and those guys are rare."

Regarding Fiske, a smiling Smith said: "He's very similar to Kyle Williams, but a better athlete."

Williams was a six-time Pro Bowler for the Buffalo Bills, and Smith served as his defensive line coach for part of his tenure. "They are both very similar. You're going to get four quarters of non-stop ball. He's a first rounder we got in the second round."

Focused on living up to lofty expectations on the field, Turner has created balance in his life through music. Turner's mother was part of the church choir, so he grew up singing gospel songs. He joined the choir in middle school, which led to running his own a cappella group in high school.

In college at Richmond, Turner enrolled in vocal studies and became the director of his own a cappella group, composing a song it performed in concert. Since he's been with the Rams, Turner has performed the National Anthem at Los Angeles Lakers and Rams games, and also performed with the Philharmonic a cappella group.

Turner's heavy musical influence led to his nickname "The Conductor," which also describes his signature sack celebration.

Turner's musical taste is an eclectic mix of gospel, R&B and popular singer/songwriter standards. His go-to list on Karaoke night includes songs like "Jealous" by Labrinth, "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals, "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims and even Nirvana's "Smell Like Teen Spirit." 

"Those music veins have kind of spread, and now I'm able to be my complete self," Turner said. "That total human I am, being able to keep that music side of me alive, even when football is really, really busy being out here in L.A."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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