Aaron Turner and Sanjay Lal added to Football Coaching Staff
1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 23, 2004
Moraga, CA - Saint Mary's head football coach Vincent White announced today the hiring of Aaron Turner and Sanjay Lal as assistant coaches. Turner will oversee the instruction of the Gael wide receivers while Lal will coach the quarterbacks.
Turner comes to Saint Mary's from Fairfield High School where he was an assistant coach for the past two seasons. While at FHS, he was the passing game and special teams coordinator, while also coaching the receivers and tight ends. Turner also served a three-year stint as Solano Community College from 1997-2000. While at Solano CC, he coached the wide receivers and tight ends, enabling two receivers and one tight end to garner all-league honors.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to learn and gain more coaching experience," said Turner. "One of the reason's I accepted the position is to work with Vincent White again. I believe in what coach White is trying to do at Saint Mary's and I'm looking forward to teaching and developing the program's receivers."
Turner, now 32, was a standout player at the University of the Pacific from 1990-93 where he played under the guidance of coach White. Turner finished his playing days at Pacific as the most prolific receiver in the history of the program. He ended his career with 266 catches, 4,345 yards, 43 touchdowns and 23 100-yard receiving games. He caught touchdown passes in 26 games, and at one point, he led the nation in consecutive 100-yard receiving games at 12. During his Second Team All-American junior season, he caught 92 passes for 1,604 yards and 18 touchdowns. Under White's guidance in 1992, the Pacific offense led the nation as it averaged 511.2 yards of total offense per game.
Joining Turner on the offense coaching staff is former Miramonte High School player and assistant coach Sanjay Lal as the program's quarterback coach. Lal, like at Miramonte, will look to develop the Gaels' passing game into one of the premier offenses in the country.
As the passing game coordinator at Miramonte, Lal, now 34 years of age, helped in the development of quarterbacks Ken Dorsey (Miami), Drew Bennett (UCLA), Adam Smith (Duke), Taylor Humphrey (Hawaii) and Mark Guillion (Miami, now at Alabama). In addition to the development of these players, Lal also helped Miramonte to NCS Championships in four of the last five years, which included a 13-0 campaign in 2001.
"It's very exciting to be part of the building process here at Saint Mary's," said Lal. "I have a love and passion for the passing game, as does coach Vincent White. With the direction coach White wants to go with the passing game, Saint Mary's is a good fit for me."
Lal completed his collegiate playing days at the University of Washington where he was a wide receiver and a member of the 1992 National Championship team. Additionally, he was part of two Rose Bowl Championship teams while at UW. He was also a member of the 1989 UCLA Cotton Bowl Championship team before transferring to Washington. After graduating from Washington with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1993, Lal was invited to the Oakland Raiders training camp under head coach Mike White. He subsequently signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams in 1998 and then with the Scottish Claymores of the World League in 1999.
In addition to his on field coaching, Lal has been an instructor at the Remi Training Camp from 1997 and prior to that he worked with the Future Athletic Systems Technology (FAST) program in 1993 and 1994. With both instructional programs, he was a demonstrator and speed technique coach. The program are designed to train NFL athletics while specializing in improving 40-yard dash times and route running techniques.
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