New coach Turner ready to lead Steers offense

Logan Turner is all too familiar with the rich football tradition here in Graham. Once long-time offensive coordinator Casey Dacus left to take over as the new head coach at Navasota in February, Turner knew Graham was the perfect fit. “As soon as I heard that this job was going to be open I threw my name in immediately,” Turner said. “I have developed a little bit of a relationship with the guys here from when my dad and younger brother were here. I was able to watch those runs that Landry and those guys had back in 2014 and I also had friends in Graham that I played with at HSU as well, so I have heard of the tradition and winning. “The job caught my eye pretty quick. It’s a great place to live and start a family. It checked all of the boxes for my wife and I,” he said. Turner, who played college football at Hardin-Simmons, is the older brother of 2014-15 Steers quarterback Landry Turner. The Turner connection to Graham dates back to when Logan’s father, Brad, spent one season on Graham’s staff years ago as a defensive backs coach. Turner will take over calling plays for an offense that thrived under Dacus. Dacus spent the last seven seasons all under Steers head coach Kenny Davidson. Last season, the dynamic Graham offense averaged over 48 points per game with quarterback Tucker Horn leading the offense to a 14-1 overall record and a season that ended one game short of the Class 4A Division II state title game. Davidson’s staff has not had much turnover in those years as defensive coordinator Clay McChristian has been with Davidson since Brad McCoy left at the end of the 2009 season. Turner has had stops at schools that were known for putting up points on the scoreboard. Turner spent time at Class 2A Bells calling plays before moving to the Big Country at Class 3A Clyde last season. He spent a short stint at Tyler Lee before heading to Clyde. Turner holds records for most passing attempts (65), passing yards (685), passing touchdowns (8) and total offense (685) in a game as the signal-caller at Hardin-Simmons. He also has the most passing attempts (431), yards (4,116) and touchdowns (43) in a single season. With the regular season schedule beginning in just over two months, Turner admits that he won’t make many changes to the way things were run prior to his arrival. “The offense will be similar to what coach Dacus was able to do,” Turner said. “I know what he did calling plays and I watched how Landry adapted to the offense, so I have an idea of what to expect. It helps that the schools I have been around, have been very similar to what they have going here in Graham.” “Some of the terminology may be different, because it has to make sense in my mind since I am the one calling the plays, but you will see a lot of similar things,” he said. “The good thing is they have spent the last few years building up an offense around the kids and what they do best. That is something I will not change.” Turner will serve as the new offensive coordinator and will teach ninth-grade world geography. The Steers 7-on-7 team competed last Thursday against Breckenridge and Mineral Wells at Breckenridge. Quarterback Hunter Lanham had two first-half touchdown passes to Damien Zemski and a completion to Marcus Clark in the end zone against the Buckaroos to go up by a touchdown. The lead extended in the second half thanks to three Graham interceptions. Clark and Raider Horn each recorded a pick. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.