SUN CATCH BIG BREAK WITH BIG-TICKET RECEIVER RETURNING

Sun receiver Danny Turek was named the best at his position last season by the BCFC.

Dan Turek was torn.

He had grown up in Winnipeg with ambitions of playing CIS football for his hometown University of Manitoba Bisons. That opportunity presented itself in the off-season and Turek jumped at it.

But after getting a taste of Okanagan living and life with the Sun junior team the past two seasons, part of Turek wasn‘t quite ready to part ways. And that part – call it his gut feeling – won out this week as the 19-year-old All-Canadian receiver announced he was returning to the Sun for a third B.C. Football Conference season.

“I‘ve been excited ever since I made the decision,” Turek said from Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon. “It was kind of a tough decision, and I felt bad for Manitoba. I really want to play university football maybe one day, but right now I just don‘t think is the time.”

Turek said many factors played into his decision, but he was finally swayed a couple weeks back when visiting friends in Kelowna and playing in a touch football tournament for former Sun general manager Derrick Malinchuk‘s team.

“I was just out there and saw the life that I had and the life that I‘m going to . . . and that‘s kind of what made me change my mind,” he said. “Usually I‘m not the type of person that is going to give somebody my word and then kind of bail out on it. But I don‘t really feel like I‘m bailing out on the university; they had a lot of guys come in for their spring camp and the team‘s looking really good.

“There‘s no hard feelings. . . . (Bisons) coach (Brian) Dobie just told me, ‘We still want you. You were our top recruit in Canada and we need receivers bad this year, but we respect your decision and I‘m just happy you‘re still playing and not giving up on your dream.‘ And maybe a year down the line after this year or in 2012, we‘ll be back in contact.”

In the meantime, Turek plans to star for the Sun and enrol at Okanagan College, likely starting in January, through the club‘s scholarship program. For now, his focus is on football and improving on the Sun‘s fourth-place (6-4) finish in 2009.

“Football season is early this year, and I‘m 110 per cent focused,” Turek said. “We just gotta top last year, somehow.”

It won‘t be easy with Okanagan graduating 18 players from last season, including former quarterback Derek Mann. He‘ll likely be replaced by incumbent backup Bobby Davis – someone Turek is familiar with, and says he‘s confident in.

“I‘ve only heard great things that Bobby has been doing on the field, and I have no doubt in my mind that he‘s going to be a great quarterback,” Turek said. “Bobby has a little different playing style than Derek, but, at the same time, it could be to our advantage. It‘s just totally different, and teams are going to have a reality check because they‘re so used to Derek and the way he plays.

“Bobby‘s an all-around athlete. He‘s got the triple threat going – obviously he can pass, but he‘s going to open up the running game and he‘s a runner himself.”

Turek is even more familiar with Matt Scheurwater, his partner in crime among receivers who also passed up CIS opportunities to return for his final junior season.

“It had something to do with it, just the fact that we can play one more year together,” Turek said. “I‘ve made a whole bunch of new friends out there and I‘m never going to forget them.”

Looking long-term, Turek also sees the Sun as a stepping stone to the professional ranks. He cited former Vancouver Island Raiders running back Andrew Harris as a player who successfully transitioned from the BCFC to the CFL‘s B.C. Lions. And two more Sun alums were selected in this spring‘s CFL draft – offensive lineman Danny Watkins (fourth overall, B.C.) and safety Saleem Borhot (12th, Edmonton Eskimos).

“It‘s always been a dream of mine, ever since I started in Grade 9, to see where I can go with this,” Turek said of his pro aspirations. “It‘s just escalating from one step to another. I have that opportunity, I can somewhat see it, but I still have a lot of hard work to do.”

One of Turek‘s Sun teammates is currently trying his hand – or rather foot – at Lions rookie camp in Kamloops. Kicker Steve Shott, who was good on 27-of-44 field-goal attempts for Okanagan last season, will handle the kicking duties at B.C.‘s camp, which kicked off on Wednesday.

(File photo Chris Stanford)
Larry Fisher
The Daily Courier
2010-06-03