Tyler Jamal "T. J." Finley (born March 25, 2002) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. Finley has been a member of the football teams for

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, Auburn, Texas State,

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

, and

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

Early years

Finley grew up in

Ponchatoula, Louisiana Ponchatoula is the second-largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The population was 6,559 at the 2010 census and 7,545 at the time of the 2020 population estimates program. Etymology It is speculated that the name is derived from the C ...

, and attended Ponchatoula High School. He passed for 2,736 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions in his junior season. As a senior, Finley passed for 2,738 yards and 21 touchdowns and also scored eight rushing touchdowns. Finley was rated a three-star prospect and the best quarterback prospect in the state and committed to play college football at

as a sophomore in high school over offers from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, and Auburn.

College career

LSU

Finley enrolled at LSU a semester early in January 2020. He was named the Tigers' starting quarterback leading up to the team's October 24, 2020, game against South Carolina following an injury to starter

Myles Brennan Myles Brennan (born March 2, 1999) is an American former college football quarterback. Early years Brennan attended Saint Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. During his career, he set Mississippi high school career records for t ...

. In his first career start, Finley completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for 265 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and rushed for 24 yards and a touchdown. Finley started five games and finished the season with 80-of-140 passes for 941 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. After competing with quarterbacks Myles Brennan and

Max Johnson Max Johnson (born July 25, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina Tar Heels. Johnson attended and played high school football at Oconee County High School in Watkinsville, Georgia and ...

in spring practice, Finley announced he would be entering the

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is in ...

Auburn

On May 24, 2021, Finley announced that he would be transferring to Auburn over offers from Alabama,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. On September 25, 2021, Finley would come in in the fourth quarter for a benched

Bo Nix Bo Chapman Nix (born February25, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football for the Auburn Tigers ...

and throw the game-winning touchdown versus

Georgia State Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

. Finley was named Auburn's starting quarterback for the Tigers' opening game of the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

season. On August 4, 2022, he was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant of eluding police officers on two separate occasions while riding his motorcycle without a helmet throughout the city of Auburn. On May 2, 2023, Finley announced his intention to enter the

. He graduated from Auburn and participated in the school's 2023 Summer Commencement ceremony.

Texas State

On January 16, 2024, Finley announced that he would enter the transfer portal for the third time as a graduate transfer.

Western Kentucky

On January 22, 2024, Finley announced that he would transfer to

. On December 7, 2024, Finley announced that he would enter the transfer portal for the fourth time.

Tulane

On December 16, 2024, Finley transferred to the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interc ...

. On April 4, 2025, Finley was suspended indefinitely from the Tulane football team following his arrest for illegal possession of a stolen Dodge RAM truck valued at greater than $25,000.Mitchell, Justin, and Marco Cartolano (April 3, 2025)
Tulane quarterback arrested over stolen truck was victim of Facebook scam, attorneys say.
NOLA.com.

College statistics

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio

LSU Tigers bio

Texas State Bobcats bio

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, TJ 2002 births Living people Players of American football from Louisiana People from Ponchatoula, Louisiana American football quarterbacks LSU Tigers football players Auburn Tigers football players Texas State Bobcats football players Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players