KaVontae Turpin
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KaVontae Lamon Turpin (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
and
return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
for the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the TCU Horned Frogs. Turpin joined the
New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
for the
2022 USFL season The 2022 USFL season was the inaugural season of the United States Football League, and the first season of a league using that name since 1985. The season began on April 16 and concluded on July 3. The league's eight teams represent various geog ...
. He was the USFL MVP for the season. He played in the
European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...
for the Wroclaw Panthers from Poland in 2021.


Early life

Turpin went to Neville High School in his home town
Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
east of
Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
. As a senior, he had 1,928 all-purpose yards, including 904 rushing and 724 receiving, and 29
touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
. He received All-state, All-Northeast Louisiana and All-NELA Big School Offensive Player of the Year honors. He was a three-star recruit and no. 12 prospect from all of Louisiana. On January 25, 2015, he committed to
TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...
over another scholarship offer from
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...
. He played varsity
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
as a guard, averaging 12.9 points per game between his junior and senior years.


College career


2015 season

Turpin accepted a football scholarship from
Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...
in
Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
. As a true freshman, he started in five of 13 games. On October 5, he was named Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week, after posting career-best totals of 6 receptions for 138 yards and four receiving touchdowns in the Horned Frogs' 50–7 win over the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
. The four touchdown receptions were the most by a freshman in Big 12 history. He injured his neck and shoulder in the seventh game against
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
and missed the remainder of the contest. Turpin had 7 receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown in the ninth game against
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
. In the twelfth game against
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
, he made a game-winning 8-yard catch in the second overtime. He finished the season with 45 receptions (freshman school record), 649 receiving yards (freshman school record), 8 receiving touchdowns (freshman school record), 1,675 all-purpose yards (led the team) and averaged 15.3 yards every time he touched the ball. He was second in the Big 12 and tied for 14th nationally with his 27-yard average in kickoff returns, the highest mark by a Horned Frog since Greg McCoy in 2011 (30.6). He was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 25 in both kickoff and punt returns. He was named freshman All-American by the FWAA and honorable-mention All-
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...
selection as a return specialist.


2016 season

As a sophomore, Turpin was limited by injuries, appearing in eight games while registering 30 receptions for 295 yards and one receiving touchdown. He averaged 16.2 yards on punt returns and 30.8 on kickoff returns. He was one of five players nationally with a punt return and kickoff return for a touchdown. On September 6, he was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after having an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown (sixth longest in school history) in the season opener against South Dakota State while also having 7 receptions for 62 yards, 177 all-purpose yards (82 punt returns, 62 receiving, 33 rushing). On September 12, he was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after totaling 169 return yards (33 punt, 136 kickoff), including a career-long 64-yard kickoff return with less than a minute to play in the game to put the offense in position for a potential game-winning field goal, while also tying a career-high with seven receptions for 126 yards and having a career-high best 295 all-purpose yards (136 kickoff returns, 33 punt returns, 126 receiving). His 90-yard punt return for a score in the sixth game against the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
, tied for the second-longest in school history.


2017 season

As a junior, he appeared in all 14 games with three starts, registering 41 receptions for 394 yards, one receiving touchdown, and 1,202 all-purpose yards. He returned a punt for a touchdown in win over the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
, returned a kickoff for a touchdown against
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
and threw a touchdown in a win over
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
, becoming only the fifth player in the previous 10 seasons with that stat line. He was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week against the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
for returning three punts for 95 yards and a touchdown. He was named first-team All-Big 12 kick and punt returner, a first-team AP All-Big 12 (all-purpose), honorable-mention All-Big 12 as a wide receiver and honorable-mention Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year.


2018 season

As a senior, Turpin played much of the season with a warrant out for his arrest from failure to appear to a domestic violence charge in New Mexico. Gary Patterson and the TCU Coaching staff were aware of the spring break arrest, but failed to investigate it and claim they did not know about the outstanding warrant. He was second on the team in receptions (29), receiving yards (410) and receiving touchdowns (three). He also returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns, and his punt-return average of 19.4 yards per attempt tied for the FBS lead. On September 10, he was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, after having a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown, making it the fourth of his career and a school record. On October 9, he returned a kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown against the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
, making it his sixth career return (four punts, two kickoffs) for a touchdown, which was also a school record.


Domestic violence charges

On October 23, he was dismissed from the team for two domestic violence charges. At the time, he was leading the nation by averaging almost 20 yards per punt return. He finished his college career as arguably the school's greatest returner: His four punt returns for a touchdown and six career special teams touchdowns were the most in TCU history.


College statistics


College accolades


Awards and honors

; National *
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Honorable-Mention
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
– Kick & Punt Returner (2017) * FWAA Freshman All-American – Kick Returner (2015) * 247Sports.com True Freshman All-American – All-Purpose (2015) ; Big 12 Conference * 2× Honorable-Mention Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year (2016, 2017) * Honorable-Mention
Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Coaches of the Big 12 Conference bestow the following individual awards at the end of each football season. Offensive Player of the Year * 1996: Troy Davis, RB, Iowa State * 1997: Ricky Williams, RB, Texas * 1998: Ricky Williams, RB, Texas * ...
(2015) * First-Team AP All-
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...
– All-Purpose (2017) * First-Team
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
All-Big 12 – Punt Returner (2015) * First-Team All-Big 12 – Kick & Punt Returner (2017) * 2× Honorable Mention All-Big 12 – Return Specialist (2015, 2016) * Honorable Mention All-Big 12 – Wide Receiver (2017) * Preseason All-Big 12 – Return Specialist (2017) * Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (1× 2015) * Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week (2× 2016, 1× 2017)


Records

; Big 12 Conference * 1st – Average yards per punt return ( Big 12 Championship Game): 50.2 * 1st – Receiving touchdowns (freshman game): 4 * 4th – Average yards per kick return (career): 20.8 * 5th – Average yards per punt return (career): 14.3 * 6th – Punt return touchdowns (career): 4 (tied, Phillip Brooks) ; Texas Christian University * 9th – Most receiving touchdowns (career): 13 * 7th – Most receiving touchdowns (season): 8 (2015) * 1st – Highest average yards per reception (game): 86.0 (2015) * 2nd – Most punt return touchdowns (career): 4 * 4th – Highest average yards per punt return (career): 14.2 * 2nd – Highest average yards per punt return (game): 41.0 (2016) * 1st – Kick returns (career): 71 (tied, Cory Rodgers) * 1st – Kick return yards (career): 1,985 * 1st – Combined kick and punt return yards (career): 2,726 * 1st – Combined kick and punt return touchdowns (career): 6 (tied, Derius Davis) * 1st – Receptions (freshman season): 45 * 1st – Receiving yards (freshman season): 649 * 1st – Receiving touchdowns (freshman season): 8


Professional career


Frisco Fighters

In 2019, Turpin was ruled ineligible to participate in TCU's
Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
, forcing him to hold his own workout, where he put up a 40-yard dash time of 4.31 seconds. After not being selected in the
2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...
and not getting an opportunity to play in two years because of off-the-field problems, he signed with the Frisco Fighters of the
Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...
in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. However, he never played a game with the team as the season was canceled due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic.


FCF Glacier Boyz

Turpin joined the FCF Glacier Boyz for the 2021 inaugural season. He posted 13 receptions for 223 yards and 4 receiving touchdowns over the 6-game season.


The Spring League

In
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, he signed with the Sea Lions of
The Spring League The Spring League (TSL) was an American football Minor league football (gridiron), developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional football (gridiron), p ...
(TSL). He appeared in 6 games and was tied for second in the league with 3 receiving touchdowns.


Panthers Wrocław

In August 2021 season, the Panthers Wrocław of the
European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...
(ELF) based in Poland, signed him mid-season as a replacement for injured running back Mark Herndon. There he won 3 out of 4 regular season games with an important win over the Hamburg Sea Devils, where he registered 293 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. He finished the regular season with 702 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. In the semi-final on the road, Turpin and the Panthers lost 27 to 30 in a close game against the Sea Devils. On November 2, the franchise re-signed him for the 2022 season, but he instead opted to be eligible for the draft of the newly founded USFL.


New Jersey Generals

Turpin was selected by the
New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
in the 13th round (103rd overall) of the
2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...
. He appeared in 10 games (seven starts), making 44 receptions (2nd) for 540 yards (1st), four receiving touchdowns (2nd), 23 carries for 129 yards, one rushing touchdown, 921 all-purpose yards (4th), 12 punt returns (3rd) for 184 yards (1st), and a touchdown (1st). He was named the league's Most Valuable Player of the inaugural USFL season.


Dallas Cowboys

On July 27, 2022, Turpin signed a three-year contract with the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
of the NFL. On August 20, 2022, in the second pre-season game played at
SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium ( ) is a domed multi-purpose stadium in Inglewood, California, U.S., a suburb of Los Angeles. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack and neighbors the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome. Opened in September 2020, the ...
against the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
, Turpin scored two touchdowns: the first on a 98-yard kickoff return in the first quarter and the second on an 86-yard punt return in the second quarter, thus paving the way for a 32–18 Cowboys victory. Turpin also added one rush attempt for seven yards during the game. Turpin was active for all 17 games during the regular season and both games during the postseason. He finished the regular season with one catch for nine yards, three rush attempts for 17 yards, and 508 kick return yards as well as 303 punt return yards. On December 21, 2022, Turpin was named to the
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
. In the postseason, Turpin added one catch for eight yards, 155 kick return yards, and seven punt return yards to those totals. On September 10, 2023, Turpin scored his first NFL touchdown against the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
where he rushed for seven yards. The Cowboys won the game 40–0. In Week 12 of the 2024 season, Turpin had a 99–yard kick return touchdown that helped the Cowboys defeat the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
, 34–26. On March 11, 2025, Turpin signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract extension with the Cowboys.


Professional statistics


FCF

;Regular season


TSL

;Regular season


ELF

;Regular season ;Postseason


USFL

;Regular season ;Postseason


NFL

;Regular season ;Postseason


Personal life


Domestic violence charges

In 2019, Turpin pleaded guilty in a second family violence case against his former girlfriend which occurred in October 2018. He was cut from the TCU football program by Gary Patterson shortly after he was informed of this second battery charge against him. Despite Patterson and the TCU Coaching staff knowing about his previous assault, he was allowed to continue to play throughout the 2018 season until he committed the second offense against the same woman. As part of his plea agreement, he served two years deferred adjudication probation and completed a 27-week Partner Abuse Intervention Program.


Notes


References


External links


TCU Horned Frogs bioDallas Cowboys bioELF bio

USFL bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, KaVontae 1996 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of American football from Monroe, Louisiana Panthers Wrocław players American expatriate players of American football Dallas Cowboys players TCU Horned Frogs football players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Jersey Generals (2022) players American expatriate sportspeople in Poland Frisco Fighters players Fan Controlled Football players The Spring League players