Former UW safety starter Asa Turner announces transfer to Florida

Three thousand miles southeast of Seattle, Asa Turner and Will Harris will be back together.

Turner — UW’s sixth-year senior safety — will transfer to Florida for his final season of eligibility, he announced Thursday night. In Gainesville, Fla., Turner will reunite with Gators secondary coach Will Harris, who tutored UW’s DBs from 2018-21.

“Will being there is huge for me,” Turner told 247Sports. “I’ve known him for years. He recruited me and coached me, so I know exactly what I’m getting into.

“He’s a great guy and a great coach and reached out to me right when I got into the portal. He told me they have some talented young safeties but need some veteran leadership back there and I could help right away. We talked Thursday and the next day I was on a flight to Florida for my visit.”

Turner — a 6-foot-3, 200-pound safety and former four-star recruit — compiled 148 tackles with eight passes defended, seven tackles for loss and six interceptions in five seasons, 43 games and 28 starts. Because he participated in just four regular-season games last fall due to injury, Turner was permitted to utilize a redshirt and return in 2024.

A Carlsbad, Calif., product, Turner was ranked as a four-star recruit in the 2019 class by 247Sports. He’s one of eight UW defensive backs to enter the transfer portal this offseason — joining senior Mishael Powell (who committed to Miami), senior Jabbar Muhammad (uncommitted), junior Jaivion Green (Stanford), junior Dyson McCutcheon (returned to UW), sophomore Vince Nunley (uncommitted), redshirt freshman Vincent Holmes (uncommitted) and true freshman Peyton Waters (uncommitted).

Of the 25 Huskies who have entered the transfer portal, 12 have committed to outside schools, while four have decided to return to UW.

Turner will not be returning to Washington.

But in Gainesville, Fla., he’ll find a familiar face.