Rams’ Kobie Turner Serving As 2026 Commencement Speaker For University of Richmond

Kobie Turner has been one of the Los Angeles Rams’ most productive defensive players since joining the team as a third-round draft pick out of the University of Richmond in 2023.

Turner is now set to return to his alma mater next month as the commencement speaker for the class of 2026, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:

“I’m thrilled and honored to serve as the commencement speaker for this year’s graduating class at my alma mater, University of Richmond,” Turner said in the release. “The time spent at Richmond was a memorable part of my journey, and my professors and peers played a significant role in my growth and development. I hope to pay forward some of the guidance that’s been provided to me and inspire the next generation of UR graduates.”

Turner attended the University of Richmond from 2018-2021 before transferring to Wake Forest to play his final year of college football in 2022. He double-majored in mathematics and music and originally walked on to the school’s football program before earning a scholarship.

Turner received the nickname, “The Conductor,” for his participation in several on campus performances. The 26-year-old played guitar, organ and clarinet, and also sang baritone for the Department of Music’s Schola Cantorum.

He has continued to pursue a career in music even as he dominates on the football field. Turner has released multiple tracks and appeared on popular singing competition show, “The Masked Singer” in 2024.

Across three seasons with the Rams, Turner has recorded 24 sacks, 43 quarterback hits, 167 combined tackles, nine passes defensed and one forced fumble in 51 games (37 starts).

Sean McVay compares Rams’ Trent McDuffie acquisition to Jalen Ramsey

While Turner is an important of the Rams’ pash rush, the team’s secondary should also be a strength in 2026 following the blockbuster acquisition of Trent McDuffie.

Rams head coach Sean McVay recently compared the move to L.A.’s trade for Jalen Ramsey in 2019, which paid dividends and eventually led to a Super Bowl title.

“I think the first thing is, when you’re looking at different avenues of upgrading your roster like we’ve talked about, whether it’s the draft, free agency, … there’s a lot of different avenues, trades,” head coach Sean McVay said from the NFL’s Annual League Meeting. “And so when we were aware that McDuffie was available, and then you have this unique opportunity where you have (defensive backs coach) Jimmy Lake, who was his college coach, who’s going to be coaching the secondary this year, and you hear about number one, you look at the four years of his body of work and the versatility where he can do a lot of things that were similar to what made Jalen Ramsey such a special player for us when our defense was really operating at a high clip. He can play into the boundary, can play to the field, he can play in the slot, he can blitz. He’s rare, and then he’s a rare human. And that was really important.”