Edwards: Former P Michael Turk transfer related to how ASU handled COVID-19

When former Arizona State Sun Devils punter Michael Turk announced he was transferring from the program less than a month away from the season, it came as a shock to most.

ASU head coach Herm Edwards joined Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Monday to discuss the 2021 season and mentioned why the former Ray Guy Award semifinalist decided to leave the program for the Oklahoma Sooners.

“It had nothing to do with anything but how we treated the COVID situation and what we were going to do going forward,” Edwards said. “We had some things in there that he didn’t agree with and that was fine. He didn’t want to leave but he decided to go somewhere else.”

Turk entered the transfer portal shortly after ASU administered a policy that any athlete or individual who has not received the COVID-19 vaccine will not be allowed to travel for road games, per AZCentral.com

Replacing the boot of Turk won’t be an easy task for ASU after he averaged 46.0 yards on 59 punts in 2019, which ranked 11th in the FBS and led the Pac-12. Turk was a two-time First Team All-Pac-12 selection.

However, Edwards thinks his team will have no problem replacing Turk at the position.

“He’ll be fine and we’ll be fine,” he said. “This kid (Eddie Czaplicki) we brought in is going to be a good player … he can punt and kick but for right now he’s just punting.”

Czaplicki, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound kicker from Charlotte, arrived on the ASU campus in July with hopes of competing for the starting place kicking job. However with a hole at punter, the true freshman has shifted his attention to replacing Turk.

The Sun Devils kick off their season on Sept. 2 at home against Southern Utah at 7:30 p.m.

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