Cullen Finnerty (August 18, 1982 – May 27, 2013) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Grand Valley State Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. ...

, leading the Grand Valley Lakers to NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2006. He was signed by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2007. Finnerty was found dead on May 28, 2013, in

Lake County, Michigan Lake County (formerly known as Aischum County) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 12,096. The county seat is Baldwin. History The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 184 ...

Early life

Finnerty was born in

Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a city in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,446. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of two incorporated cities in Livingston County ...

, and prepped at Brighton High School, located in Livingston County. He was awarded the Livingston County Football Player of the Year award as a senior, and was named to the Ann Arbor News All-Area First-team, and Michigan All-State Honorable Mention. Finnerty threw for 1,954 yards and rushed for 636 yards. As a junior, he was named the

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

News Player of the Year, as well as all-area, all-league and all-Livingston county. Finnerty threw for 459 yards and kicked three field goals in his first playoff game as a junior. Finnerty also lettered in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

High school accolades

* Livingston County Player of the Year (Senior year) * Ann Arbor News All-Area First-team * Ann Arbor News Player of the Year (Junior year) * Honorable mention all-state * All-area, all-league and all-county (Junior year)

College career

Toledo

In 2001, Cullen Finnerty Redshirt (college sports), redshirted his true freshman year at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

Grand Valley State

Finnerty transferred to

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

in 2002, but he did not play that season. In 2003, he joined the Grand Valley Football team for his first year of eligibility as a freshman.

Freshman season

Finnerty was awarded 2003 GLIAC conference Freshman of the Year award, and was named

GVSU Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. ...

's Rookie of the Year. He was a two-time GLIAC Player of the Week, and was named Football.com Div II Player of the Week. Finnerty earned his first varsity letter as a freshman after starting 14 games. He completed 230-of-363 passes for 2,764 yards and 22 touchdowns, completing 63.4% of his passes. Finnerty was ranked 12th in pass efficiency rating (144.02) and 26th in total offense (256.9) in NCAA Div. II. He rushed for 822 yards and nine touchdowns himself, and also caught one pass as a receiver, for nine yards. Finnerty completed 20 or more passes in a game three times in the season, and broke the 200-yard passing mark six times, including two games of over 300 yards. He completed 19-of-29 passes for 149 yards and rushed for 78 yards on 19 carries in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Div II National Championship game vs. North Dakota

Sophomore season

In his sophomore year, Finnerty started all 11 games at quarterback. He completed 192-of-333 passes for 2,462 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 189.4 yards passing per game. He rushed for 458 yards and five touchdowns on 139 carries. Finnerty tallied 224.6 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) per game. He was ranked 26th in the nation in passing efficiency (138.5), and 42nd in NCAA Division II in total offense per game at 225.4. He was fourth in the GLIAC in both passing yards (189.4) and total offense (225.4) per game.

Junior season

With GVSU winning the NCAA Division II National Championship, as a junior Finnerty was named the 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, and First-team All-GLIAC Quarterback. Finnerty was given Honorable Mention on Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American Team. Finnerty completed 157-of-273 passes for 2,459 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 523 yards and nine touchdowns himself on the season. In the National Championship match versus

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University (NW Missouri) is a public university in Maryville, Missouri, United States. It has an enrollment of 9,152 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park (St. ...

, Finnerty completed 12-of-19 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, while rushing himself for 59 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the win

Through his first 3 seasons, Finnerty recorded a 36–4 record as a starting QB, and produced a 9–1 NCAA Div. II playoff record. He achieved 9,488 offensive yards and 92 career touchdowns, passing for 7,685 yards and 69 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,803 yards and 23 touchdowns. Finnerty ranked second in career total offense at GVSU with 9,488 yards, and third in career passing yards with 7,685 yards, and all with another season yet to play.

Senior season

As a senior quarterback, Finnerty became the winningest quarterback in

history for all divisions, with a career record as a starting quarterback of 51–4, and he was named to the 2006

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

All America Tea

Finnerty also earned

Daktronics Daktronics, Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota, that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. It was found ...

First-team All American honor

He finished the 2006 GVSU season with a 15–0 record, completing 195 of 343 passes for 3,220 passing yards and 41 touchdowns, and leading the nation in passing efficiency, quarterback efficiency with 169.32. Finnerty also rushed for 580 yards and 8 touchdowns himself, totalling 3,800 offensive yards and 49 touchdowns on the season, for an average offense of 253.3 yards per gam

. Finnerty was awarded second place for the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

awar

just prior to the NCAA Div II national championship match in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

. In the title match versus

, Finnerty completed 15-of-33 passes for 225 yards and rushed for 115 yards on 22 carries for 340 yards of total offense, passing for one touchdown and running for another. Finnerty became the first quarterback in NCAA Division II Championship game history to pass for over 200 yards and also rush for over 100.

Awards and honors

* 51–4 career record as a starting quarterback—the winningest quarterback in college football history, regardless of NCAA Division * 2003 GLIAC Freshman of the Year * 2003 GVSU Rookie of the Year * GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2003(2 times) * D2Football.com Player of the Week 2003 * 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year * GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2006 (2 times) * 2006 GLIAC Player of the Year * 2006 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' All-America Team * 2006 Daktronics First-team All American * Finalist, 2006

– 2nd place * D2Football.com Player of the Decade (2000–2009)

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

After going undrafted in the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

, Finnerty was signed by the

as an

. However, he was released by the team in July before the preseason. Finnerty was re-signed to the practice squad during the season, and was promoted to the active roster for the final two games of the season after an injury to

Kyle Boller Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the California Golden Bears, he was selected by the Balti ...

. An exclusive-rights

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the 2008 offseason, Finnerty was not tendered a contract by the Ravens.

Denver Broncos

On March 27, 2008, Finnerty was signed by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. On June 13, 2008, Finnerty was placed on waivers by the Broncos.

Cineplexx Blue Devils

In October 2008, Finnerty joined the Cineplexx Blue Devils of Austria. The Blue Devils play in the

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is a professional American football league in Austria. The league comprises six teams, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation. It plays by rules based on those of the U.S. National Collegiate Athl ...

second highest level currently. Finnerty led the team to win the Bodensee Cup tournament. He threw three touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown, and kicked a 26-yard field goal in a 31–13 win over the Swiss national team in the Bodensee Cup title game. Finnerty was named MVP of the tournament.

Muskegon Thunder

Finnerty was the starting quarterback of the Muskegon Thunder of the CIFL. In 2009 in two games, he had 123 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns to go along with a completion percentage of 46.9 for the 2009 Indoor Football League season.

Personal life

Cullen Finnerty's parents Tim and Maureen Finnerty live in Brighton, Michigan. Cullen and his wife Jennifer lived in Michigan with their two small children.

Disappearance and death

On May 26, 2013, Finnerty was reported missing after he went fishing on the Baldwin River in Michigan. On the evening of May 28, Finnerty was found dead in the woods by local search crews one mile from his fishing boat in

. His body had no signs of trauma and was dressed for the elements. An autopsy, released in August 2013, showed Finnerty died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

brought on by inhalation of vomit after he became disoriented. It was possibly related to

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

. Finnerty was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head. ''The New York Times'' ran an article about his life and death in June 2013.

References

External links

Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnerty, Cullen 1982 births 2010s missing person cases 2013 deaths American football quarterbacks Baltimore Ravens players Denver Broncos players Grand Valley State Lakers football players Missing person cases in Michigan Sportspeople from Brighton, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan West Michigan ThunderHawks players Deaths from pneumonia in Michigan Players of American football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy American expatriate players of American football