Cameron Turner enters his second season as an assistant coach with FIU football in 2014 working with the Panthers quarterbacks and wide receivers.
In 2011, Cameron joined the Minnesota Vikings as Assistant to Head Coach Leslie Frazier. He spent two years in Minnesota, embracing every preparatory aspect of managing an NFL coaching staff, from administrative details to coaching strategies.
“In the short amount of time Cameron worked for me I could see such a great display of loyalty,” said Frazier. “Cameron has a tremendous work ethic. I was very impressed with him. Nobody was a harder worker. He is very bright. He can see beyond the moment, has a vision for what he is doing and can see the big picture.”
Turner’s duties included serving as liaison for the coaching department to all departments of the Vikings as well as the NFL Officials. He coordinated schedules and team travel itineraries. On game day, Turner would oversee the inactive list, charted game management for the offense and defense, responsible for clock management, timeouts, coaches’ challenges and rules.
His degree and background in business administration came into great use, as Turner was also charged with formulating and managing the coaching budget.
“Cameron understands coaching and what it takes to be a successful coach,” added Frazier. “He really knows how to communicate and relate to the players. There are so many positive attributes about Cameron. You just know and can see that his parents did an outstanding job in raising him.”
Beyond the operation of a coaching staff, Frazier made sure Turner had exposure to coaching. Along with his attendance at coaching staff meetings and film studies, Turner was right there on the sidelines taking in everything.
“With us, he saw how we were able to develop a young quarterback in Christian Ponder, along with being around the development of young wide receivers in Percy Harvin and Jarius Wright,” continued Frazier. “He was able to pick up the details that will help him in developing the young players at FIU. I saw his ability to relate and teach and that is one of the most important aspects of coaching. The fact he is a good communicator and excellent teacher will make him very successful as a coach.”
Turner attended The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, where he was a quarterback and wide receiver for the Bulldogs from 2006-09.
"Cam was a highly-rated quarterback coming out of High school,” said Kevin Higgins, the longtime Citadel head coach. “He was attracted to our school for not only football but also the leadership opportunities as well. Cam was a very bright player that had a very good understanding of our offense. He spent countless hours hanging around the office looking for ways to improve his knowledge of the game.”
He first played quarterback, into his junior season, then after a sustaining a shoulder injury was moved to wide receiver for his final season.
“Unfortunately Cam tore his labrum in the last game of his junior year against the University of Florida,” said Higgins. “Despite the injury, Cam threw and caught a touchdown pass in the game. So, for his senior year we moved him to wide receiver. He was just such a natural talent.”
In addition to his leadership on the field, Cameron embodied leadership off the field, in the locker room and classroom. He was a four-time scholar-athlete, five-time Dean’s List recipient, two-time Citadel Gold Star recipient and earned a spot on the 2009 Southern Conference All-Academic Team, amongst other school acknowledgment. He graduated in 2010 with a degree in Business Administration.
Following his playing career, Turner joined Higgins' Citadel staff as an assistant coach in 2010 working with the receivers and special teams.
“Cam helped coach in the spring of his senior year and it was apparent that he had the skill set necessary to be successful,” added Higgins. “The following season I hired him full-time to coach the receivers. He did an excellent job in all areas of his responsibilities.”
Along with his coaching duties, Turner served as team liaison with academic and military issues and coordinated all team community service projects. His primary recruiting regions were 10 states throughout the Midwest and West regions.
