LOS ANGELES \u2014 Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner understands the assignment for this season. Turner, nicknamed “The Conductor” for his musical acumen, is the defensive co-captain for a team that’s not only considered the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl, but also on one of the most talented rosters assembled in recent years. How will Turner handle those high expectations? What does he make of playing alongside the otherworldly Myles Garrett and the possibility of playing again with future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald? I asked Turner those questions and more following one of the Rams’ first training camp practices as the standout defensive tackle looks to play a big role in Los Angeles’ run for a Lombardi Trophy this season. [Read more: The 100 People Who’ll Shape The Upcoming NFL Season] What was your focus this offseason after the way things ended last year? Turner: It\u2019s always continuing to get better. Getting some footwork training in, making sure my hands are continuing to be sharp, continuing to understand the game and let those opportunities come to me. Really, each offseason is about getting faster and stronger. And then I did a lot of vision training too, being able to see the game early. The more that I can see things that connect my eyes to my hands and my hands to my body, the more I\u2019ll be able to start faster. Vision training sounds different. What\u2019s that like? Turner: They have these goggles that blink for short periods of time, and then you can turn them up and have them blink for longer periods of time, catching bean bags and calling which color and which color corresponds to your hand. And these three-color sticks will have blue, red and yellow. And then another one will have white, black and green on it, or something like that. They throw random sticks, and you have to call out a specific color as you catch the stick while I have on the goggles. It’s just little stuff like that, because when it comes down to the trenches, obviously it\u2019s a lot of violence, just getting off the rock and running into people. But it\u2019s so technical, and the more your eyes can see, the better off you\u2019ll be. It’s just being able to see things clearly and locking in my eyes. Especially on the first day, your eyes are going to be out of whack with everyone flying around. But the more you can focus your eyes in on what you\u2019re seeing and the more you can use film study to be able to anticipate what you\u2019re going to see, that helps. Have you changed your weight at all? Turner: I\u2019ve been within a 10-pound range since I\u2019ve been here. I\u2019ve always been staying within a 290 to 300-pound range. And I feel really comfortable playing there. What was your initial reaction when you heard about the Myles Garrett trade? Turner: It was a very hard day. Obviously, Jared Verse is one of our brothers and a very good teammate. So that was a tough thing to process. But then you get the opportunity to work with a generational talent, a guy who just broke the sack record and more than anything, is just a good guy. Now we’re finally getting a chance to work with each other, me being able to get reps in camp and him being able to get reps in camp, we\u2019re going to continue to build up that camaraderie so we can rush four as one. It\u2019s obviously exciting times when you\u2019re able to work with one of the best in the world. Anything that\u2019s surprised you with Garrett being out on the field since he\u2019s been here? Turner: I didn\u2019t really have too many expectations. I\u2019ve been following his journey a little bit and his personality too, and he always just seemed like a down-to-earth guy. So, I\u2019m just continuing to get to know him. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s been too much that\u2019s surprised me. To be able to get to that caliber of player, you have to put in the work daily. And obviously that\u2019s something he\u2019s been able to do. He\u2019s a talented individual, but he works hard, so I have a lot of appreciation for that. And I\u2019m just continuing to learn from him. Along with Garrett, you added significant pieces on defense with cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. How do you handle high expectations for the defense? Turner: It\u2019s the same story as always, right? We have to be inside-out more than ever. Before, it was people not really believing in us. I remember coming in my rookie year in 2023 and nobody thought we could do too much of anything, and we went and showed the world differently. So, it\u2019s always been about being inside-out. We know we have a lot of returning guys from last year, but it\u2019s also a different group. So, that\u2019s what training camp is for, being able to build that rapport and that camaraderie, but also being able to continue to lock in. But really, a lot of our returning guys \u2014 whether it be from last year or before \u2014 we\u2019ve built up the work. We know the mental toughness that it requires. We know the resiliency that it requires, so it will be continuing to put that on display. The outside world doesn\u2019t matter. The last time I checked, nobody won a Super Bowl in July. It\u2019s the NFL, man. Nobody is walking out there winning a Super Bowl or winning however many games. Expectations don\u2019t really mean anything. It\u2019s about what we do day in and day out, putting ourselves in position to take advantage of each opportunity we have on Sundays \u2014 or I guess every day of the week since we\u2019re playing every day of the week (laughs). What was your reaction to losing the NFC Championship Game to the Seahawks in Seattle? Turner: When I tore my calf, really during that time when I was trying to see if I could go back on the field, that\u2019s when I processed all the hurt of, \u2018Man, I\u2019m not playing in this game.\u2019 And when the finality of the game hit, it obviously took awhile to process that our season was over. We really thought we could go win the whole thing last year, and we really believed that we were a couple plays away, but that\u2019s what this league is. But I also remember something I felt so strongly was just the gratitude of the journey that we\u2019d been on. We talk about so often the process and the journey. Taking time to pay attention to each and every step. And that\u2019s what you remember. You don\u2019t always remember the outcome of specific games. But you remember the guys that you were with and the journey you went on. And then we\u2019ve got that rivalry with the Seahawks. We\u2019ve got them two times this year, two times to go against last year\u2019s Super Bowl champions. That\u2019s going to be a super-exciting two games, and another opportunity to show why we believe we\u2019re the best in the world, and go put that on display just by being more inside-out than ever and putting in the daily deposits that\u2019s going to lead us to success when it comes game time. You mention the calf injury. I\u2019m assuming you’re fully healthy since you\u2019re out here on the field? Turner: Yes, I\u2019m feeling great. I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t ask about Aaron Donald\u2019s potential return. You had an opportunity to play with him as a rookie and know what that looks like. What are your thoughts on the possibility of playing with him again? Turner: He\u2019s a guy who\u2019s taken me under his wing, obviously, my rookie year and even after that. He\u2019s provided me with so many connections with people I feel have influenced me and helped me perfect my craft. He’s such a solid dude and good friend. Obviously, the possibility of him coming back out is really exciting to me. I remember when my rookie season ended and we were at the Lions, I felt back then that I really wanted to bring home a [Super] Bowl for him. And at that time I was just a rookie; I really didn\u2019t know what the work looked like and what was required. But I was willing to put in the work. And here we are as a team a little more experienced. So, it would be a great opportunity [to have Donald return]. Your guess is as good as mine. But he\u2019s a guy who works hard. He\u2019s the right type of guy. That possibility is super exciting, and I\u2019m also super excited with this team as we have it. However it shakes out, I\u2019m excited for the journey we\u2019re going on with these guys. A lot of people have talked about Donald\u2019s impact on game days, but what would it mean for your group having him at the facility every day? Turner: Nothing can compare to his career. It\u2019s a storied career, but I just think about personally how much he helped me out. The confidence that was instilled in my rookie year, being able to work alongside him. He put me in contact with Poodie (Rams defensive line trainer Albert “Poodie” Carson). I\u2019ve been working with him ever since. I\u2019m super excited about the possibility. But this type of thing doesn\u2019t work with this type of team without somebody being as great on the field as he is off the field. If that does happen, that would be a reason why it\u2019s successful.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES \u2014 Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner understands the assignment for this season. Turner, nicknamed “The Conductor” for his musical acumen, is the defensive co-captain for a team that’s not only considered the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl, but also on one of the most talented rosters assembled in recent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33040\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}