Quarterback TJ Finley is on his sixth college in six years.
It was revealed Monday that Finley has enrolled at Georgia State, with coach Dell McGee revealing that he has spent the past few months with the team.
Finley, 23, has suited up for LSU, Auburn, Texas State and Western Kentucky in his college career and transferred to Tulane after the 2024 season. Tulane suspended Finley after he was arrested in connection with a stolen truck; his attorney said he was the victim of a scam and did not know the vehicle he purchased from an online marketplace had been stolen.
He entered the portal again once the Green Wave brought in more quarterback transfers.
As it turns out, Finley found another home much sooner than anyone knew.
“He was with us in May. He’s been a part of our program,” McGee told reporters. “He was just awaiting some legal matters and then the NCAA appeal that he had to go through.”
McGee said Finley attended team meetings and practiced over the summer. Once the Panthers got to fall camp, he didn’t give Finley reps in practice as they did not know if he’d be cleared to play and they needed the other quarterbacks ready.
No. 21 Ole Miss flattened Georgia State 63-7 in the season opener Saturday. Earlier in the week, McGee found out that Finley, in fact, had been cleared.
“We got the news on Tuesday of the Ole Miss week that he won his appeal,” McGee said, “and he started back his acclimation period with an afternoon practice with our strength and medical staff, and he was the scout team quarterback on Wednesday. He worked out Saturday and Sunday and he’ll be part of the evaluation process moving forward.
“This is nothing new. Our quarterbacks on our current roster knew he was here, and they all knew he was awaiting his appeal. We just felt like bringing in guys from a competitive standpoint at every position was the goal in the offseason, and adding him in May was part of that process.”
Christian Veilleux and Cameran Brown split the snaps at Ole Miss. Veilleux completed 4 of 11 passes for 52 yards, the team’s only touchdown and an interception. Brown went 8-of-14 passing for 17 yards.
Finley figures to be in the mix for reps as Georgia State moves forward to Saturday’s home opener against Memphis.
Finley took over as LSU’s quarterback midway through the 2020 season following an injury to starter Myles Brennan. Auburn (2021-22) was the only school where he spent more than one season. Finley enjoyed arguably his greatest success with Texas State in 2023, when he played 13 games and threw for 3,439 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. That campaign ended with a First Responder Bowl win against Rice.
Georgia State went 3-9 (1-7 Sun Belt) last season, McGee’s first year on the job.