Tim Sarver was the head coach of the football team for Landon Turner’s four years at HHS. Before Landon enrolled, his parents parents Dawn Womack and West Turner were looking at a few different schools to house him and his athletic abilities. When they came to HHS, Sarver gave his pitch to the parents.

“I’m sure that I mentioned that we had quite a few scholarship athletes that had come out of Harrisonburg and that he would be treated fairly and given every opportunity,” Sarver said.

Sarver had heard about Turner’s athletic ability, but was still surprised when he saw him on the field for the first time.

“I had no idea when [his parents] came in talking that he was such a gifted athlete. As soon as you saw him on a practice field with anyone one on one it was very obvious that he was gifted. He’s just an incredibly big and fast man,” Sarver said.

It was a longer process for Sarver to extract Turner’s true potential. During the process he treated him the same as the rest of the players

“[I didn’t do anything] special or [anything I] wouldn’t do with any of [my] ball players, but Landon already knew that he wanted to play college football. He knew the lord had given him gifts that showed all the way through his career,” Sarver said.

Sarver was able to treat Turner the same as the rest of the players which worked positively with Turner’s personal qualities.

“He had a great desire to excel. I think that reflects his parents and his upbringing. Landon always gave 100 percent whether it was in the classroom or on the field,” Sarver said.

As Turner has continued his football career at University of North Carolina, Sarver has kept up and seen his progression continue.

“I went [to North Carolina] and saw a few ball games this year. I keep up with his parents, and he’s well on his way to a professional career if everything goes well,” Saver said.