TJ Finley has taken the nation by storm with his rushing ability, albeit in a rather surprising way. Instead of running towards the end zone, he often finds himself running away from his obligations. Finley has played for a total of five teams throughout his six years in college: LSU, Auburn, Texas State, Western Kentucky, and now Tulane University.
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A native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Finley first began his football journey at his local high school. After a standout senior campaign landed him a developmental role at LSU, the youngster seemed to be well on his way to gridiron greatness. Unfortunately, LSU never saw a return on their investment.
After playing in just five games, he had seemingly had enough of playing second fiddle. Wishing to remain a Tiger, Finley elected to change his stripes and join the ranks of Auburn, where he’d remain for the next two years. After a downtrend in performance saw him return to a developmental role in 2022, he once again entered the portal, this time joining Texas State.
Despite enjoying a breakout year and setting career highs in every key metric, Finley again opted to enter the transfer portal. Having concluded his 2024 campaign with Western Kentucky, he is now headed back to New Orleans to be a part of the Tulane Green Wave.
The 23-year-old signal caller boasts a career total of 6,128 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns, and an even 63% career completion percentage while averaging 180.2 passing yards per game. However, his main concern is currently avoiding a potential suspension stemming from a recent arrest.
After local law enforcement received a complaint about a truck blocking a driveway, an inspection of the license plate showed no match to the vehicle. Finley was informed by the authorities that the car had been reported as stolen. However, Finley’s attorney now asserts that the player was simply the victim of a Facebook Marketplace scam.
Statement from David Courcelle and Scott Stansbury, the attorneys for Tulane QB TJ Finley, who was arrested Wednesday for illegal possession a stolen vehicle. He told police he purchased the truck recently. Tulane suspended Finley pending the outcome of his case. pic.twitter.com/M9pokEwglt
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) April 3, 2025
Before he can begin to plan the next steps of his storied collegiate career, Finley will have to clear this legal hurdle first, as the Tulane program has ruled that the length of his suspension will be determined by the result of the case.
Some analysts are also of the belief that the frequency at which Finley has changed teams is unhealthy for both him and college football as a whole. Going as far as to suggest that Finley is “abusing the transfer portal,” Scott Fisher fears that Finley’s two remaining years of eligibility could see the QB venture off to even more teams in the future.
“Finley’s not going away anytime soon, as he will end up being one of those seven-year quarterbacks. He was a part of that class of 2020, had a redshirt, dealt with an injury, and all of a sudden, this guy is going to be playing college football forever.”
Fisher isn’t the only one to voice concerns over Finley’s tendency to relocate. Former NFL quarterback and Carolina Panthers legend Cam Newton had choice words for Finley during a recent episode of his podcast. Concerned about the young player potentially extending this habit into his professional life once removed from college, Newton explained that, “This ain’t real life. You can’t do this in the NFL. You can’t do this in corporate America.”
Former players and analysts alike are beginning to pay attention to Finley’s seemingly never-ending series of issues. Whether he is running from himself or simply wanting to find the perfect playing situation, the six-year college veteran will have to put down roots sooner or later.
Until that day comes, however, there’s little reason to believe that Finley has made his final stop in the FBS.
