Mickey Turner is in his fourth season as part of the Redbird coaching staff, working with the team's wide receivers. Prior to the 2026 season, Turner was named the team's offensive coordinator and will lead the Redbird offensive attack.

The Redbird wideouts were a bit part of the team's success in 2025, as ISU won four-straight road games in the FCS Playoffs to advance to the FCS National Championship game. Led by All-American and First-Team All-MVFC selection Daniel Sobkowicz, the Redbird wideouts helped ISU lead the country in first downs on offense (392) and the Redbird offense led the MVFC with 42 passing touchdowns on the season. Sobkowicz broke nearly every ISU career receiving record, while leading the country in receiving touchdowns (19) and ranking sixth in receiving yards (1,141). Redshirt freshman receiver Luke Mailander also had a breakout season and earned MVFC Freshman of the Year honors, and Dylan Lord had a bounce-back year while starring for the Redbirds in the FCS Championship game with a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns for the Redbirds against Montana State.

The Redbird offense ranked second in the conference and No. 17 in the country in passing offense with 238.1 yards per game in 2024 and was No. 33 in the country in total offense with 402 yards per game. Much of that success was due to the team's efficiency on third down, as the Birds ranked No. 19 in the country in third down conversion percentage at 45.6 and ranked 10th in the country with 303 first downs overall. The wideouts were led by MVFC Second-Team selection Daniel Sobkowicz, who  ranked second in the MVFC with 1,108 receiving yards on 80 receptions (13.9 yards per catch) and became Illinois State's first 1,000 plus yard receiver since Anthony Warrum in 2016. The wide receivers also saw a boost from transfer Xavier Loyd, who earned All-MVFC Honorable Mention honors and was a member of the MVFC All-Newcomer team after he ranked in the top 7 in the league in yards, touchdowns, and receptions.

The 2023 season saw a resurgence for the Redbirds offense, which featured one of the most prolific attacks in the FCS. Illinois State ranked No. 10 in the country in total offense with 434.4 yards per game and No. 12 in scoring offense with 32.8 points per contest. Sobkowicz had a breakout season to earn All-MVFC Second-Team honors as he ranked in the top 20 in the country in touchdowns (10), receiving yards (933), yards per game (84.8) and receptions per game (6.2).

Turner came to Illinois State after spending the past eight years as member of the Wisconsin coaching staff. In his eight years as tight ends coach, Turner helped the Badgers win 72 games, three Big Ten West Division titles and seven bowl victories in the Holiday, Cotton, Orange, Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, Las Vegas and Guaranteed Rate bowls. He also was in charge of the recruiting department his last two seasons with the Badgers.

Under Turner’s direction, current Dallas Cowboys starter, Jake Ferguson emerged as a top target in the passing game, leading the Badgers in catches and yards in each of his final two seasons. His star pupil in his first three seasons at UW was tight end Troy Fumagalli, a finalist for the John Mackey Award and second-team All-American as a senior in 2017. He led the Badgers in receptions (46) and receiving yards (547) while pulling in four touchdown catches on the way to earning first-team All-Big Ten laurels.

Turner added responsibility for Wisconsin’s fullbacks in 2017, with senior Austin Ramesh and junior Alec Ingold serving as key parts of the Badgers’ offensive attack. The duo combined for six touchdowns and were integral to a rushing effort that saw UW average 222.9 yards per game.

Turner played for the Badgers from 2006-09, serving as a captain during his senior season in 2009 and contributing to a UW team that went 10-3 and downed Miami to win the Champs Sports Bowl. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Turner was presented with the team’s Ivan B. Williamson Scholastic Award as a senior.

Before returning to Madison, Turner spent the previous three years at the University of Pittsburgh where he served as a graduate assistant in 2013 and was the Panthers' assistant director of player development in 2014. The 2010 UW graduate went on to earn an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis before joining Chryst’s staff in 2012.

He and his wife, Katie, have a daughter, Callie, and two sons, Jackson and Tatum.