| One of the commitments the Notre Dame | | | | now has a pipeline with the school for obtaining |
| football team signed in recent months was that of | | | | future prospects. Turk has not had enough |
| punter Ben Turk. Ben is a high school student | | | | exposure to have a ranking from Rivals, Scout |
| playing football for St. Thomas Aquinas High | | | | and ESPN, but Chris Sailer ranks the punter as the |
| School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. When he | | | | sixth in the nation among junior college football |
| received a scholarship to continue his | | | | players. No doubt the other ratings will be just as |
| post-secondary education at the University of | | | | high. |
| Notre Dame, he didn take long to make up his | | | | Although Ben was not promised any early playing |
| mind. He accepted the scholarship without even | | | | time, he is practicing with the team in South Bend |
| making a visit to see what awaits him on campus. | | | | and he hopes that through his efforts he will be |
| He is 6 feet tall and weighs 190 pounds. The | | | | able to show off his punting skills to gain him |
| signing of Turk for the 2009 class was the eighth | | | | some playing time next season. Since the current |
| commitment for Notre Dame as it continues its | | | | punter plans for next season are still up in the air, |
| recruiting efforts for future years. | | | | it is quite likely that Turk will see some time on |
| Turk is considered to have the strongest legs of | | | | the field in his freshman year. |
| any high school football player in the country with | | | | In addition to being an excellent football player, |
| an average of 40.8 yards in one punt. He comes | | | | Ben is also an outstanding student. His grade point |
| from a football family with his uncle, Matt Turk, | | | | average stands at 4.32 showing that he has what |
| being a punter for Houston Texas for 13 seasons | | | | it takes to do well at Notre Dame in all aspects of |
| in a row. Another of his uncles, Dan Turk, was an | | | | university life. His teachers have described him as |
| NFL player from 1985 to 1999. When asked about | | | | being an ll-around student??one who knows what |
| making his decision to play for Notre Dame so | | | | he wants and is willing to work hard to achieve his |
| quickly, Turk told reporters that there really wasn | | | | goals. |
| much of a decision to make. He long held the | | | | Turk said that Notre Dame is a great university |
| team and the university in high regard and was | | | | and that he is proud that he is going to be part of |
| pleased at having been offered a scholarship from | | | | it. Having made the commitment to Notre Dame |
| the university. | | | | makes it easier for him in his final year of high |
| St. Thomas Aquinas School is also the alma mater | | | | school because he won have to spend his time |
| of players such as Sam Young and Dan Wenger. | | | | waiting and wondering if a college team will pick |
| It has a reputation for a strong football team and | | | | him up. He can concentrate on perfecting his |
| with the commitment from Turk, Notre Dame | | | | game even more and attending to his studies. |