Gridiron Glory 25: Where are they now? Season 15 host Keith Turner

As a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, Keith Turner loves to tell people that he was the host of Gridiron Glory when current Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was a senior at Athens High School.

“When I look back on it, I can’t believe I got to cover him when he was in high school,” said Turner. “It’s so full circle to me, seeing him as a Bengal takes me back to those days of Gridiron Glory. We thought this kid was so good and now he’s my QB for my team. It’s amazing.”

What Turner struggles a little bit to explain is why Burrow was not named Gridiron Glory Player of the Year in 2014.

“Even though Joe probably deserved it, the Athens community didn’t vote in the numbers that the other schools did,” said Turner. “The more rural, distant schools had the votes.”

But Burrow wasn’t the only thing that made Season 15 special, Turner says becoming host of Gridiron for that season was the culmination of a dream that he had since he was a little boy. Turner chose Ohio University because of the strong reputation of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, but quickly learned about the opportunities available for students at WOUB.

“When I first got there, I was very ambitious. I wanted to be doing TV sports. So, I went to the student organization fair and went to the WOUB table. Once I learned about Gridiron, I knew I had to do it. Being able to cover high school football was amazing. I worked my way up and did whatever I could. I became a beat reporter, and I told people that I was eventually going to host the show,” said Turner. “I wanted to be on ESPN or Fox Sports. So, I knew if I was the host of Gridiron Glory, that was an important first step to getting there.”

After becoming host, Turner realized the level of responsibility that came with being the leader of a show that was beloved by both the students who worked on it and the community members who watched it.

“Where I’m from in Cincinnati, there are four or five news outlets always covering high school football games,” said Turner. “In WOUB’s viewing area, Gridiron was their main source. There was such passion and excitement. It was a huge responsibility.”

After graduation, Turner did an internship working in sports at a newspaper in Florida, but quickly realized he was being called to do something else.

“I had a passion for church leadership and sports. I wondered if I could try to mix the two. But in the end, I was more driven toward the faith space,” said Turner. “I became the pastor of a church in Cincinnati. I still love sports, but I use my gifts and education to be able to communicate what I believe instead.”

Turner says he still uses the storytelling skills he learned at Ohio University and WOUB.

“Instead of reporting sports stories, I’m now telling the stories of Jesus,” said Turner. “It’s using a lot of the things I did with Gridiron, just in a different way.”

For more information on Gridiron Glory and WOUB, please see the WOUB Public Media website.