In 2020, TJ Finley, the quarterback for LSU, has an opportunity to defeat Alabama. The Tigers were defeated.
As quarterback for Auburn, Finley has one more chance to defeat the Tide in 2021. Tigers (other) did not win.
Now, in Saturday night’s Bryant-Denny Stadium opening against Western Kentucky, Finley will get a third opportunity to play quarterback for Alabama.
Finley’s trip has been incredible; on December 5, 2020, in Baton Rouge, he was introduced to Alabama for the first time. Finley led a limp LSU team with only three wins against an undefeated Alabama club that was winning a national championship. The stat sheet was telling: Finley completed 14 of 28 passes for 144 yards before Max Johnson was substituted late in the third quarter of the 55-17 defeat.
Following the Tigers’ move, CBS’s Gary Danielson acknowledged to viewers that the COVID-related freshmen seasons of both quarterbacks did not affect their eligibility before revealing, “They both will play college football.” I’m not sure where they will both play.
That was a mild exaggeration. Less than a year later, in the Iron Bowl, Finley encountered Alabama again after transferring to Auburn. Even though he completed 17 of 26 throws for two touchdowns and one interception, the Tide prevailed 24–22 in four overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium despite his stronger performance.
A shoulder injury sidelined Finley for a large portion of his 2022 season on the Plains; he left Auburn for Texas State, where he started 13 games in 2023.
He is currently playing for his fourth team in his third conference after defeating Caden Veltkamp in a fall camp match on Monday.
WKU coach Tyson Helton stated, “TJ will run out there first, but I’ve told both quarterbacks they need to be ready to play.” “We’ll watch how the match unfolds. In my opinion, either of those guys should have started at first base. To be very honest with you, you could flip a coin and see who needs to go outside first before TJ does. However, you should not be surprised if Caden enters there; you should anticipate to see him there.
“TJ is a very experienced, mature man who has been in numerous fires. Therefore, letting him go out there initially does make things a little simpler.”
The listed weight of Finley is 238 pounds and 6 feet 7 inches, a stat that Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is familiar with. Last season, in a 52-44 victory over Texas State, his South Alabama defense enabled Finley complete 19 of 28 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns.
A year ago, Wommack was “really impressed with him,” she said on Monday. “I felt that his release was excellent. He’s got all the throws down. He did a great job, in my opinion, of controlling their offense. accepted the advice early on but was able to follow a progression. Thus, it will be intriguing to watch how Tyson and their staff use him; perhaps in a different way than GJ Kinne or the Auburn staff did previously, or in some other way entirely. However, I believe he possesses a talent set that you can apply in a variety of ways.
“And he’s a big son of a gun, so he’s a guy who can fall forward and, should he do so, he’ll go downhill for three or four yards.” Finding out about their escape strategies is one of the things we really get into. When we prepare to match these guys up personnel-wise, we want our men to be well-aware of the possibility that he has a completely different escape technique than what we’ve seen from Ty Simpson or Jalen Milroe.”
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