Tag: TJ Finley

Western Kentucky tabs TJ Finley as starter for season opener at Alabama

The former Auburn QB will get one more shot at beating Alabama when the Hilltoppers invade Tuscaloosa this Saturday.

Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] will get one more shot at beating Alabama this season.

Finley, who played quarterback at Auburn from 2021-22, transferred to Western Kentucky during the offseason after spending the 2023 season at Texas State. Earlier this week, Hilltoppers head coach Tyson Helton named Finley the starting quarterback for their season opener at Bryant-Denny Stadium with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer shared his initial assessment of Finley after the announcement.

“He’s got a skill set that you can utilize in a number of different ways,” DeBoer said Monday. “And then, he’s a big son of a gun, so he’s a guy that can fall forward. And if he does, he’s going to go for three or four yards just getting downhill.”

Alabama offensive coordinator, Kane Wommack, played against Finley last season as the head coach of South Alabama. He provided a positive report on Finley following Texas State’s 52-44 win over the Jaguars, in which Finley passed for 368 yards.

“Really impressed with him a year ago,” Wommack said. “He’s got a really good release. He can make all throws. I thought he did a really good job of managing their offense really well. Took what was given early, but can work through a progression. And so, it’ll be interesting to see how Tyson (Helton) and their staff utilizes him.”

Finley, who is playing for his fourth collegiate program, takes over for Austin Reed as Western Kentucky’s top quarterback following a two-year stint that saw him pass for over 8,000 yards and 71 touchdowns. Finley departed Texas State in the offseason following the transfer of former James Madison quarterback Jordan McCloud into the program. Finley passed for 3,287 yards and 24 touchdowns during his lone season in San Marcos.

In two previous games against Alabama, Finley has completed 57% of his passes (31-of-54) for 281 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

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Former LSU QB TJ Finley named starter at Western Kentucky

Former LSU QB TJ Finley was named the starter at Western Kentucky.

Former LSU QB [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] was named the starter at Western Kentucky ahead of the Hilltoppers Week 1 match with Alabama.

For Finley, WKU is career stop No. 4. After beginning his career at LSU, he spent two seasons at Auburn. He found success with Texas State in 2023, but the Bobcats opted for JMU transfer Jordan Mcleod. That left Finley looking for a new home.

WKU has been kind to transfer QBs in recent years. Most notably, Bailey Zappe put up historic numbers in 2021.

Week one will be Finley’s third career game against Alabama. Finley previously saw the Tide in his time with LSU and Auburn.

A former three-star recruit from Louisiana, Finley looked like LSU’s future for a brief moment in 2020, but LSU’s QB room got crowded.

Finley’s 2023 was a career year. He threw for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns while posting a 152.4 passer rating. All three marks were career highs.

Entering his fifth year of college football, Finley will look to finish on a high note. Liberty is the favorite in Conference USA, but WKU poses the biggest threat to the Flames.

If things go right, Finley has the talent to lead WKU to a conference title and continue the trend of offensive success under Ty Helton.

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Former LSU wide receiver joins Western Kentucky

Former LSU wide receiver Koy Moore found a new home earlier this week.

A former LSU wide receiver found a new home earlier this week.

[autotag]Koy Moore[/autotag] transferred to Western Kentucky, making it his third stop after he began his career at LSU before hitting the portal and landing at Auburn.

Moore played at LSU from 2020-21. LSU’s depth was tested during the COVID year and Moore was forced into action as a true freshman. He caught 22 passes for 177 yards in 2020, but was less of a factor in 2021, catching five passes for 71 yards.

Moore was one of a handful of Tigers to transfer amidst the coaching transition.

In 2022, Moore got a real opportunity at Auburn and caught 20 passes for 314 yards and a score. Against LSU, he ended up throwing an interception to [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag] on a trick play.

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin was fired, but Moore stuck around in 2023 and caught three passes for 24 yards.

At Western Kentucky, Moore will be reunited with former LSU and Auburn QB [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag]. Moore’s time overlapped with Finley’s at both previous stops.

Western Kentucky has had some high-flying offenses in recent years and Moore will hope to help continue that trend.

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Where are former LSU quarterbacks TJ Finley and Max Johnson now?

Where are former LSU quarterbacks TJ Finley and Max Johnson in 2024?

LSU’s quarterback situation in 2020 was a revolving door. Following the departure of [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag], the Tigers failed to find a steady presence behind center.

[autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] began the year as QB1 before an injury ended his year. LSU was then forced to play two true freshmen: [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] and [autotag]Max Johnson[/autotag].

Finley and Johnson both had their moments. Finely led LSU to a win over South Carolina in his first start, completing 81% of his passes for 265 yards and two scores.

The next week, Finley struggled at Auburn, leading LSU to give Johnson a chance.

Johnson’s high came at Florida. 2020 was a struggle for LSU, but Johnson managed to lead an upset of No. 6 Florida in the Swamp. Johnson threw three scores that night and looked like the future of the position.

Finley transferred to Auburn and Johnson won LSU’s starting job in 2021. He put up a respectable performance and threw for 27 TDs, but following Ed Orgeron’s departure, Johnson hit the portal and ended up at Texas A&M.

Both quarterbacks went on to see coaching changes at their second school. Finley left Auburn after Bryan Harsin was fired, transferring to Texas State.

Johnson spent the last two years at Texas A&M but transferred to North Carolina during the Aggies’ coaching transition.

As both enter their fifth year of college football, Finley is on his fourth stop while Johnson is on his third.

Some were confused by Finley’s decision to enter the portal after his year at Texas State. Finely threw for 3,440 yards and 24 touchdowns, and his 103.8 NFL passer rating was second in the Sun Belt. Despite those numbers, Texas State went in a different direction, eventually landing former James Madison QB Jordan McCloud.

Now, Finley is at Western Kentucky, where he has the chance to lead another explosive offense. Johnson is at North Carolina with the Tar Heels hoping he can replace the big shoes of Drake Maye.

Finley and Johnson are talented players who have been dealt tough hands in their collegiate careers given the state of the programs they played for. Much of it was out of their control, but both will look to make the most of their new spots in 2024.

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Former LSU QB TJ Finley commits to fourth school

TJ Finley had a big season in the Sun Belt with Texas State in 2023.

Former LSU quarterback [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] is spinning the transfer wheel once again.

After a prolific season at Texas State, the veteran passer entered the transfer portal for the third time this offseason. On Monday, he announced his commitment to Western Kentucky.

A native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Finley started five games due to injury as a true freshman in 2020. He entered the transfer portal following that season and landed at Auburn, where he would be an occasional starter over the next two seasons.

He had something of a career resurgence with the Bobcats this season, starting all 13 games while totaling more than 3,500 yards and 29 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.

Now, he joins a Western Kentucky program that has had quite a bit of success with transfer quarterbacks. Houston Christian transfer Bailey Zappe set FBS records for passing yards and touchdowns in 2021, while West Florida transfer Austin Reed also saw a lot of success over the previous two seasons.

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Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Report: Robby Ashford to enter transfer portal

Ashford passed for 1,758 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons on the Plains.

It appears that a spot has opened up on Auburn’s quarterback depth chart.

According to a report by Nubyjas Wilborn of Newsweek, sophomore quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] has entered the transfer portal after spending two seasons on the Plains.

Originally signing with Oregon, Ashford returned to his home state ahead of the 2022 season. He split time with former Auburn quarterback [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] before Finley suffered a shoulder injury in Auburn’s loss to Penn State in week three, thus paving the way for Ashford to take the reigns of the offense.

He returned to the role of secondary quarterback in 2023, sharing time with Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]. He rushed for 217 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers this season, while passing for just 145 yards and two scores.

This chapter in Ashford’s college career closes with 1,758 passing yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 927 yards and 12 scores. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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Former Auburn QB is a ‘difference maker’ at Texas State

Texas State head coach GJ Kinne is pleased with what he has seen out of former Auburn quarterback TJ Finley.

Auburn fans celebrated the start of a new era on Saturday by watching their favorite team earn a 59-14 win over UMass.

Halfway across the country, a member of the program’s past era celebrated a win of his own.

[autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] appeared in 13 games during his two-year stint with Auburn and would pass for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns. Finley learned that the quarterback battle at Auburn would be moving forward without him, so he elected to enter the transfer portal. He found a new home within the Sun Belt Conference at Texas State University.

On Saturday, Finley threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in Texas State’s upset win over Baylor in Waco.

Texas State head coach GJ Kinne calls Finley a “difference-maker” and recalls when he discovered Finley was in the transfer portal.

“I was in New Braunfels, over there and I saw his name go in the portal,” Kinne tells Andy Staples of On3. “I talked to a couple people, got his number, reached out to him and kind of gave him my spiel. He came on an official visit later that week and he had a couple other P5 OVs lined up, and after the OV he canceled them and decided to be a Bobcat, which was huge.”

The Bobcats’ win over Baylor was impressive, and Kinne will rely on Finley to produce more wins this season. Finley steps into a new situation in San Marcos, which may help him reach his full potential.

“He just needed to be in the right system,” Kinne said. “If you look at his career, the guys that recruited him for their system kind of left. So it was a situation where we felt really confident in his abilities, we just had to get him here.”

Finley will face another challenge this Saturday, as he will lead Texas State into the Alamodome to face UTSA.

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Saturday’s scrimmage will provide a turning point in quarterback battle

The quarterback race is still wide open. That could change this weekend.

One of Auburn football’s most important questions heading into the fall may soon have an answer.

After spring practice, the quarterback battle appeared to be decided as [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] elected to transfer to Texas State. However, the race took an interesting turn in May as Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] announced that he would be transferring into the program to compete with incumbent [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag].

Since then, the competition has turned up a notch. Even dark horse contender [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] is trying to make a splash in the decision.

Offensive coordinator [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] provided an update regarding quarterbacks with the media on Monday. He says that he hopes Saturday’s scrimmage will provide more clarity on the battle.

“I just want to see somebody take control and take a step forward. Separate themselves. That’s what you’re looking for in your quarterback position — a guy that’s gonna lead, guy that’s gonna make plays,” Montgomery said. “He doesn’t have to be Superman, but he does have to be consistent in his play in his decision making and taking care of the football, and then moving us down the field and staying ahead of chains.”

He went on to say that the quarterback who remains the most consistent in making plays will win the job. But what does each quarterback bring to the table? He began by describing Thorne and his “student of the game” mentality. Thorne has done well at getting up to speed with the new system.

“He’s seeing things right now at a really good rate,” Montgomery said. “You’ve gotta remember, he wasn’t here in the spring. Some of the things that he’s picked up on, we’ve gotta get everybody else around that to be on the same page with him. But I think he’s done a great job with his leadership. He’s disciplined, and he’s professional about what he does.”

When it comes to Ashford, Montgomery says that he has become more consistent over the fall.

“(Ashford has) got a big arm. But it’s the consistency of the fundamentals that kind of go into that part of it. He’s worked really hard on that,” Montgomery said. “I think he’s really operated. He does a really good job of trying to lead and be positive and do the things that we’re asking him to do.”

The Tigers will continue fall camp until Saturday, Aug. 19. As part of fall camp, Auburn will have two scrimmages at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Potential transfer quarterbacks for Notre Dame and if they should pursue

Who do you like from this hypothetical list?

With the quarterback position in such a odd place for Notre Dame, it only makes sense to look around and see who else is out there. Recently, I complied a list of current QB’s in the transfer portal and if they would be a fit for the Irish.

Today, 247Sports Clint Brewster looked at hypothetical portal quarterbacks, so let’s do the same drill and see if they are fits for the Irish if they end up in the portal.

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Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Where the Auburn offense ranks per Pro Football Focus

How does the Auburn offense grade through a third of the season?

It has been a Jekyll and Hyde like offense for the Auburn Tigers. The running game looks solid while the passing game looks like a junior varsity squad.

A lot of the inefficiencies can be dropped at the feet of the offensive line. They have trouble in both pass and run blocking through four games this season. That came against Mercer, San Jose State, Penn State, and Missouri. Not exactly murderer’s row, but the upcoming games against LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Alabama definitely does.

Not everything can be put on the guys protecting, but the receivers and quarterbacks hold their fair share of the blame. One thing that seems to be a bright spot has been the running game led by preseason All-SEC running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby has forced 31 missed tackles and tallied 246 yards after contact.

We break down the offensive units with their season grades from Pro Football Focus through a third of the season.