Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Keena Turner graduated from Purdue on May 15 with a degree in organizational leadership 41 years after he left the school as a second-round pick in the 1980 NFL draft.
ESPN's Nick Wagoner reported Sunday that Turner, now 62, and his daughter, Ella, graduated together earlier this month. The commencement ceremony took place inside Ross-Ade Stadium, where the standout defender starred for the Boilermakers more than four decades earlier:
"Here's the stadium I played in, and it had all those kind of emotions and memories. Over this last year, we weren't sure if there would be a physical graduation, so there was all of this uncertainty about how it would happen, and so for Purdue to have a physical graduation and have all the graduates in the stadium and getting the opportunity to be acknowledged by family and friends in this way, it was great.