Football Mike Williams
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State football head coach Brock Spack has filled a hole in his coaching staff with the announcement of the hiring of Mickey Turner to be the program’s new wide receivers coach. Turner fills the vacancy left by Andy Belluomini, who recently took a coaching role at Missouri. Offensive Coordinator Tony Peterson, who worked with the wide receivers last year, will now work with the quarterbacks while Turner mentors the wideouts.
"Mickey came highly recommended from Paul Chryst and C.J. (Irvin) who worked with him at Wisconsin," Spack stated. "He brings a Big Ten pedigree with him, not only as a coach but also as a player who served as a captain for the Badgers. His experience working in the passing game at Wisconsin should translate well here at Illinois State, and we look forward to seeing what he can do with our receiver group. His on-field experience and knowledge of the game, as well as his experience in recruiting, will help our program tremendously moving forward."
Turner comes to Illinois State after spending the past eight years as member of the Wisconsin coaching staff. In his eight years as tight ends coach, Turner helped the Badgers win 72 games, three Big Ten West Division titles and seven bowl victories in the Holiday, Cotton, Orange, Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, Las Vegas and Guaranteed Rate bowls.
"I am excited to be joining this coaching staff and get to know our student-athletes and staff," Turner said. "There is a lot of tradition here and I respect what Coach Spack has done with the program and the teams he’s built. The rest of the coaches on this staff are great and I look forward to giving this program my best and learning a lot along the way. This is an offense that has a lot of versatility and requires a lot from the receivers, which puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders to help our group meet that standard."
Under Turner’s direction, Jake Ferguson emerged as a top target in the passing game, leading the Badgers in catches and yards in each of his final two seasons. His star pupil in his first three seasons at UW was tight end Troy Fumagalli, a finalist for the John Mackey Award and second-team All-American as a senior in 2017. He led the Badgers in receptions (46) and receiving yards (547) while pulling in four touchdown catches on the way to earning first-team All-Big Ten laurels.
Turner added responsibility for Wisconsin’s fullbacks in 2017, with senior Austin Ramesh and junior Alec Ingold serving as key parts of the Badgers’ offensive attack. The duo combined for six touchdowns and were integral to a rushing effort that saw UW average 222.9 yards per game.
Turner played for the Badgers from 2006-09, serving as a captain during his senior season in 2009 and contributing to a UW team that went 10-3 and downed Miami to win the Champs Sports Bowl. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Turner was presented with the team’s Ivan B. Williamson Scholastic Award as a senior.
Before returning to Madison, Turner spent the previous three years at Pittsburgh. The 2010 UW graduate went on to earn an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis before joining Chryst’s staff in 2015. He served as a graduate assistant in 2013 and was the Panthers’ assistant director of player development in 2014.
He and his wife, Katie, have a daughter, Callie, and two sons, Jackson and Tatum.
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