Adrian Dater
| Special to the State Journal-Register
He set a new league playoff record with 168 yards and three touchdowns, including a 71-yard TD that made all the national highlight shows for its obstacle-course of a long run after the catch. Malik Turner, though, would trade in the personal accolades if it meant a victory for his Michigan Panthers team in the United Football League championship game.
Doesn’t every player say that, though? But in talking with the former Sacred Heart-Griffin football star, the words seem heartfelt and genuine. Championships at any level of football make for never-forgotten memories, and Turner still seemed full of lament three days after his Panthers lost 58-34 in the UFL title game on June 14 to the D.C. Defenders in St. Louis.
“Credit to them. They scouted us well I guess. But we had special connections on this team, men of God. We thought we would win, but we just didn’t get it done,” Turner said.
Turner, 29, graduated from Sacred Heart-Griffin after helping lead the Cyclones to a 14-0 championship season in 2013, then went on to star four years at Illinois as a receiver. Although he went undrafted by the NFL, Turner went on to play 41 NFL games with Seattle and Dallas from 2018-21, with 29 receptions, 414 yards, and four touchdowns.
After bouncing around the league on several practice squads, Turner signed with the UFL Panthers in 2025 under former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan. Turner and former L.A. Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins quickly formed enough chemistry to make it to the title game, with Perkins winning UFL MVP honors and Turner catching 40 passes un 10 games for 465 yards and four TDs.
Including the title game, Turner caught 16 passes for 267 yards and four TDs in the playoffs. Can that be a springboard to get back into the NFL? Well, that’s the hope.
“That’s what I set out to do. My goal at the beginning of this year was for this to be one step along the way,” Turner said. “I did what I could control. I showed I could still be explosive.”
But if the UFL is as high as it ever gets from here? Turner says he’ll be grateful, no matter what. Turner said he told a Panthers coach, “This is the most fun I’ve had in a game since college and high school,” at the final.
“Being in this league this year allowed me to compete in these high-intensity moments, and really be able to talk with guys,” said Turner. “There are so many interesting stories with guys in that league. I think this league is truly going to blossom.”
The UFL isn’t the NFL, but it’s still not a bad gig. The minimum salary is $62,005, and the season is only 10 weeks, then playoffs. Players also get a $4,000 housing stipend, and there was bonus money for making the title game. With NFL training camps opening next month, Turner is hopeful his phone will ring with an offer from the NFL again.
Turner lives mostly in Arizona now, but maintains plenty of friendships and contacts from his days at SHG, playing under Ken Leonard, and growing up in Springfield.
“I still talk to coach Leonard to this day,” Turner said. “So many good memories.”