LSU is currently entrenched in one of the more heated offseason quarterback competitions around the country but the three-man race was whittled down to two when sophomore TJ Finley made the decision to leave the program last week and enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Finley’s decision came after he made five starts during his true freshman season — which is more than Myles Brennan or Max Johnson have in their college careers — and completed 80 of his 140 passes for 941 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

During his most recent appearance on ESPN 104.5 FM radio show Off The Bench, Orgeron had this to say about Finley’s decision to leave LSU.

“TJ did everything right. He reached out and said, ‘Coach, I need to have a meeting with you.’ Very heartfelt, it was a very hard decision for him,” Orgeron said on the show. “He felt that it was the best decision for him in his career.

“Obviously, I tried to have him stay. You know, I think the world of TJ, and I think it’s a great young man. I think it’s a great quarterback, but he felt that there was something that he needed to do, but I got to say, he did everything right. He did it first class, and we wish him the very best wherever he goes. Someone’s gonna get a great young man, a great quarterback.”

Turns out, that someone could be a conference opponent.

In a recent interview with 247Sports, Finley said his transfer decision could be coming within the next two weeks. He also singled out Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State as SEC teams that have reached out to him since officially entering the NCAA transfer portal.

In fact, Finley claims he’s heard from Bryan Harsin and the Auburn coaching staff every day since leaving LSU.

“There is an opportunity there,” Finley said to 247Sports. “A lot of people in the organization there since the new staff got there believe I can come in and compete for the starting job. It ain’t like me going there to be a backup.”

Sounds like Bo Nix may soon have some competition on The Plains.