TJ Finley announced his decision to re-enter the transfer portal prior to his sixth season of college football. The 22-year-old quarterback will play for his fifth different program and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
It is very possible that he could end up playing seven seasons with five teams in four conferences.
Finley was a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2020. He initially committed to LSU and played in six games with five starts. Ed Orgeron did not name him the starter as a sophomore so he packed his bags after spring practice and moved north to Auburn.
Upon arrival to his second SEC West program, Bo Nix was already in place as QB1. However, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo worked him in on certain packages and he got three starts due to injury. 2022 was not much better. Although Finley began the year as the starter, he was benched in favor of Robby Ashford.
From there, he transferred to Texas State in 2023. It was the best season of the 6-foot-7 signal-caller’s career. Finley completed 67.4% of his passes for 2,439 yards and 24 touchdowns and led the Bobcats to its first eight-win season in program history.
Despite all of the success, head coach GJ Kinne made the foolish and shocking decision to squeeze out his star quarterback in favor of a transfer who settled a sexual assault lawsuit just one day prior. TJ Finley, who had just announced his desire to return for 2024, did not stand for the disrespect and left. He ultimately landed at Western Kentucky instead.
Finley went 2-1 as the starter for the Hilltoppers and the singular loss was on the road at Alabama. Unfortunately, an ankle injury suffered during Week 3 ended his season so he is going to transfer, again.
Thank You WKU #themarathoncontinues🏁 pic.twitter.com/2xc6ISDwRc
— TJ Finley 1️⃣ (@tj_finley1) December 7, 2024
By my knowledge, TJ Finley’s decision to leave Bowling Green will make college football history. Never before has an athlete played for five different teams. This is a first! Fifth time is a charm?