Story by
Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Gophers’ odd couple: Joey Gerlach, A.J. Turner bond through serious injury
- Story byPioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
- Gophers’ odd couple: Joey Gerlach, A.J. Turner bond through serious injury
College football teams are a broad collection of disparate pieces that often reside in separate silos on the roster, more than 110 players broadly put into offensive, defensive and special-teams units, with further divisions in position groups, age and their year in school.
Some spend their entire college careers as part of the same high school recruiting class; others transfer in and out — some multiple times. It's natural for a player to stick to his cohorts and have more acquaintances than actual friends on a team.
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Last September, Joey Gerlach and A.J. Turner were a fitting example of that, cordial but not close Gopher teammates.
Gerlach, a linebacker from Woodbury, was in his fourth year at Minnesota ; Turner, a running back from Hampton, Va., was in his first year as a junior transfer from Marshall.
That odd couple has since formed an unexpected friendship after each suffered season-ending injuries last season, bonding as they worked through the mental and physical challenges of the recovery processes. Now they live vicariously through each other's success on the field.
When Turner got news he was officially cleared to play against Mississippi State two weeks ago, he hugged Gerlach on the practice field the day before that nonconference game.
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Both have been key players for Minnesota this season. Gerlach moved into the starting lineup against Akron and tied for the team lead with eight tackles in the 41-7 win last weekend. He has added splash plays through three games — a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
After missing the season opener against Eastern Illinois, Turner took on a bigger role against Akron due to the injury to Darius Taylor and contributed 44 rushing yards on 10 carries and one touchdown.
"Two of the guys that worked the hardest in the offseason," head coach P.J. Fleck told the Pioneer Press this week. "To be able to come back and have those guys share that bond, I think it means a lot to them personally, and then to our football team."
Both Gerlach and Turner are expected to play significant roles when the Gophers (2-1) face Washington (3-0) in the Big Ten opener in Seattle on Saturday night.
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During a loss to California in September 2025, Turner suffered a torn ACL, MCL and lateral meniscus in his knee. Reflecting on how much he put into the game, Turner said, he cried in the injury tent in Berkeley, Calif.
Seven weeks later, Gerlach tore his ACL during a win over Michigan State win on Nov. 1. He, too, heard the pop in his knee and knew it was bad.
Gerlach and Turner then spent many months together in the training room in the Larson Football Performance Center, rehabbing from their season-ending surgeries. All the strength in their legs had evaporated, and they were back at square one.
On the road to recovery, Gerlach and Turner also were side by side in "The Pit" — the U's nickname for the spaces where ailing players rehab adjacent to practices during the season, winter workouts or spring ball.
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Given the timing of their injuries, Turner started out ahead of Gerlach in the rebab process. But given the heightened severity of Turner's injury, Gerlach later passed him. They tried to support each other in the process.
Turner describes himself as "business-minded," attacking his rehab on a ultra-serious note, while Gerlach tried to lighten the vibe with Turner, while also putting in his own hard work.
"Joey definitely made me smile, man," Turner told the Pioneer Press. "Even if I was having a hard day or a rough day, he would just say anything to give me a smile. He was great."
Gerlach and Turner bonded over a shared hobby of playing video games, and their girlfriends have connected a few times, too.
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"It can be a pretty devastating road when you go alone, but when you have someone on the team go through something like that with you, it makes an easier ride because you know that he knows what you're going through," Gerlach said.
Other players noticed. Captain linebacker Maverick Baranowski, a close friend of Gerlach, said: "Joey got AJ smiling in the building now."
Gophers defensive coordinator Danny Collins expressed how proud he is of Gerlach. "He gets his opportunity and you can see him continue to take those opportunities and run with it," Collins said. "He's playing at a really high level right now, super excited for Joe."
Quarterback Drake Lindsey singled out a dirty-work play Turner made at the beginning of the Mississippi State loss. Lindsey threw a quick-game route to tight end Julian Johnson when Turner stepped up in blitz pickup.
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"It was the loudest hit I've ever heard," Lindsey said. "I looked and it was AJ just meeting a linebacker. That was one of his first plays back. That set the tone for me, having No. 2 back there. He's all about business, and he's going to bring it."
That's another reason for Turner, and Gerlach, to smile.
