OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – East Carolina senior defensive lineman Alex Turner has been named among 30 candidates vying for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award in college football.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

Turner, a double major in psychology and multidisciplinary studies (neuroscience) who sports a 3.60 cumulative GPA, is a two-time Google Cloud Academic All-District 3 First-Team selection, three-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team pick and six-time ECU Directors of Athletics Honor Roll member.

An active member in the community, Turner has devoted over 100 hours over the last three years to various community service organizations and projects in Eastern North Carolina such as Aces of Autism, Special Olympics, Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Give Kids A Smile, James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital, Red Cross blood drive, Cypress Glen Retirement Home, Elmhurst and Stokes Elementary Schools, Rise Against Hunger, Thank-a-Thon, annual Goldspy’s, ECU Freshman Orientation, ECU Baseball Banquet and football clinics.

On the season, Turner has booked 21 tackles (seven solo) while registering a team-best 5.5 TFLs (-28 yards) and 3.0 sacks (-21 yards). A four-time game captain, he has recorded TFLs against NC State (1.0), Gardner-Webb (3.0), Navy (1.0) and William & Mary (0.5). Currently he ranks 48th nationally in TFLs (1.4) and sacks (0.75) per game, while standing among the league leaders in TFLs (t3rd), sacks (t6th) and tackles per game (t33rd/5.2).

A preseason All-AAC selection by Athlons (third-team), Turner is also a two-time National Football Foundation (NFF) William v. Campbell Trophy semifinalist (2018-19) and a two-time All-State AFCA Good Works Nominee (2018-19).

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists with those names being placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in January.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – ECU junior defensive tackle Alex Turner is one of 169 college football players to be nominated for the 2018 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. The award recognizes the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation.

Alex Turner

Turner, who started six of 10 games a year ago, tallied 17 stops (six solo) on his way to earning ECU’s Defensive Big Man-of-the-Year honors as a sophomore. He collected at least one stop in nine games and posted multiple-tackle outings on six occasions, including a career-high four against Connecticut in the Pirates’ 41-38 win in East Harford. Turner was credited with 1.5 TFLs (1.0/UConn, 0.5/BYU) and one sack vs. the Huskies (-4 yards).

In the community, Turner has volunteered with programs such as Aces for Autism, Special Olympics, Vidant Children’s Hospital, annual Goldsby's Gala and the ECU Baseball Banquet.

A double major in psychology and multidisciplinary studies (neuroscience), Turner earned College Sports Information Directors (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 3 First-Team honors in 2017, is a two-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection and was twice named to the ECU Dean’s List and Honor Roll.

The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will consist of a 22-player roster comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA. A special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will unveil the team in September from the initial list of 169 nominees.