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On the move again: TJ Finley signs with seventh school in 7 seasons
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- On the move again: TJ Finley signs with seventh school in 7 seasons
Perhaps no one has taken advantage of the current state of college football and the transfer portal quite like TJ Finley
Finley, most recently at Georgia State , signed to his seventh school in seven seasons on Jan. 13 and will play at Incarnate Word in 2026, according to On3. Finley has certainly had a unique career arc, starting college in 2020 at LSU , before heading to Auburn , Texas State , Tulane, Western Kentucky , Georgia State and now Incarnate Word, an FCS program. It's a mind-blowing path, considering college athletes typically only get four seasons of eligibility.
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The 6-foot-7 quarterback completed 127-of-201 passes for 1,244 yards with six touchdowns to seven interceptions this season, appearing in seven games. His best season came at Texas State in 2023, when he passed for 3,439 yards with 24 touchdowns to eight interceptions, also rushing for five scores.
Finley received two extra years of eligibility due to playing his freshman season in 2020, which didn't apply to players' regular four years. He also received a redshirt for the 2022 season at Auburn , as he played in only four games that season.
Finley, who turns 24 years old in March, said on Instagram he applied for a seventh year of eligibility before a season-ending injury he suffered in 2024 at Western Kentucky, where he played in three games.
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"The last two years have been the most challenging seasons of my life," he wrote Dec. 15. "Balancing new fatherhood, injuries, and adversity off the field has tested me in ways football never could."
Finley originally transferred to Tulane for the 2025 season but never played there after being suspended indefinitely after being arrested for illegal possession of stolen items valued at $25,000, which occurred after police linked the truck he was driving to a missing vehicle in Atlanta. His lawyers claimed he purchased the truck on Facebook Marketplace and he was victim of a scam.
The Ponchatoula, Louisiana, native was a 3-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class and passed for 941 yards with five touchdowns to five interceptions as a true freshman at LSU before transferring to Auburn. He threw for 137 yards with two touchdowns in Auburn's 24-22 four-overtime loss to Alabama in 2022.
He was highly recruited out of high school, with offers from LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Oregon and Ole Miss , among others.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TJ Finley transfers to Incarnate Word, his seventh school in 7 seasons
