How ‘The Conductor’ became an iconic nickname for Kobie Turner

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner numbers among the many players who will need to step up for L.A. to replace 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald, in the team’s first season since he retired.

Turner boasts perhaps one of the best nicknames in the entire NFL — “The Conductor.” During a fresh episode of the Rams docuseries “Behind the Grid,” he explained the NCAA-era origins of the essential moniker.

“Music has always been a really big part of my life,” Turner revealed. “In high school, I wasn’t really getting recruited for football, so I started going after music scholarships. But I was always a guy that wanted to do both, and so I walked on at Richmond.

I also started doing choir and vocal studies, studies on conducting and leading a choir. One day after practice, we’re in the locker room, and I just started dancing, like conducting or whatever. And one of the captains was just like, ‘Yo that should be your celebration this week.’ So boom, fast forward, it’s [the] Albany game, 2019, first year starting, and I got a sack, and I get up, and I’m just walking out conducting. The announcer was like, ‘The Conductor’s conducting again!'”

The nose tackle started out at Richmond in 2018, and transferred to Wake Forest in 2022.

“I kind of made that my signature celebration if you will. From Richmond, I brought that with me to Wake Forest, and then with me to the Rams,” Turner said.

Last year, the 24-year-old notched 57 total tackles (29 solo, 28 assisted), nine sacks, six stuffs and two pass deflections.