Background and career
Robert James Turbin (born December 2, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Utah State Aggies, and was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Seahawks. With the Seahawks, he won Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, and Indianapolis Colts. He works at CBS Sports as a color commentator for their college football and NFL broadcasts.
Turbin played high school football at Irvington High School in Fremont, California. As a junior, he led the varsity team to a Mission Valley Athletic League football championship, and his team would go on to play in the NCS Division 3A East Bay Conference championship, where they lost to Las Lomas High 21–14. He was named first-team all-league running back as well as an all-league defensive back as a senior, and earned the league Defensive Player of the Year award. He rushed 143 times for 1,232 yards and 14 touchdowns and had nine receptions for 103 yards, and defensively, he recorded six interceptions. He was also a two-year letterwinner in basketball as well as track & field.
Turbin enrolled at Utah State University and played for the Aggies football team. As a redshirt sophomore in 2009, he gained 1,296 rushing yards and 418 receiving yards and scored 18 touchdowns. In the annual rivalry game against the Utah Utes, Turbin set a school record with a 96-yard touchdown run. He missed the 2010 season due to a knee injury, but he returned in 2011 as the Aggies' lead running back. In the first half of the 2011 season, Turbin ran for at least 100 yards in five of the six games. Turbin's 1,517 rushing yards during the 2011 season ranked 10th among NCAA Division I FBS players. In 2011, Turbin set the single season rushing touchdowns record for Utah State with 19 rushing touchdowns. He won the WAC Offensive Player of the Year.
On April 28, 2012, Turbin was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round with the 106th overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. That year, he and Bobby Wagner became the highest-drafted pair of USU players since 1980. Playing as a backup to Marshawn Lynch, Turbin ran for 354 yards on 81 carries in his rookie season. In Week 14 against NFC West rival Arizona, Turbin got a significant number of carries in the second half thanks to a blowout, and would have his first career 100 yard game, getting 108 yards on 20 carries in a 58–0 victory.
Again serving as a backup to Lynch, Turbin got fewer touches in 2013, ending up with 77 carries and 264 rushing yards and 8 receptions for 60 yards. Turbin obtained his first Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XLVIII, recording 9 carries for 25 yards in the game during the 43–8 victory. Still the second-string running back in 2014, Turbin scored his first career NFL touchdown in Week 2 against the San Diego Chargers, catching a three-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson in the loss. He would score a second in week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers on a 13-yard catch-and-run. He would add a 34-yard catch later in the game, a 19–3 victory. In Week 17 against the St. Louis Rams, Turbin got 11 carries for 53 yards and caught a pass for 13 yards. He ended the season with 74 carries for 310 yards, along with 16 receptions for 186 yards. The Seahawks finished the season 12–4 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the second straight year. In Super Bowl XLIX, Turbin had 2 carries for 21 yards, but the Seahawks lost 28–24 to the New England Patriots as they failed to repeat as champions. After sustaining a high ankle sprain in the third preseason game, he was waived with an injury settlement on September 9, 2015.
Turbin was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on September 10, 2015. He spent five weeks recovering from his previous ankle injury. He played in three games before being waived by the team on November 10.
