Former SEC QB TJ Finley reportedly signs with 7th school of CFB career
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Former SEC quarterback TJ Finley is ready for the next, and possibly final, chapter of his long and winding college football career.
Finley, who spent the 2025 season at Georgia State, is now headed to Incarnate Word in FCS. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the news on Tuesday night.
Incarnate Word marks an incredible seventh school for Finley, who was originally a member of LSU‘s 2020 recruiting class. Though he threw for 941 yards and five touchdowns in five starts with the Tigers in 2020, that didn’t count toward his eligibility as it was a COVID year.
After entering the transfer portal, Finley landed at Auburn for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, filling in as a starter in place of an injured Bo Nix in 2021. He was then named the Tigers’ starter in 2022 after Nix transferred to Oregon and redshirted after his season was interrupted by injury after four games.
His next stop was Texas State in 2023, where he totaled 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns versus just eight interceptions. Then, with Western Kentucky in 2024, he opened the season as the starter but suffered an ankle injury that ended his season after three games.
Finley was granted a medical redshirt after his fourth trip to the portal and ended up at Tulane, but after an arrest led to his departure from the program, he enrolled at Georgia State for the 2025 season, throwing for 1,244 yards in seven games.
He’s now successfully lobbied for a seventh year of eligibility, one that he’ll spend at the FCS level. Incarnate Word was 5-7 in 2025.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
