While Auburn football QB TJ Finley has the floor right now for the Tigers, he will lose that spotlight next season when Bo Nix returns from the ankle injury that sidelined him for the final three games (2 regular season tilts and one bowl game) of 2021.
Finley came to the Plains with an eye on this very moment right now, but it’s going to take an Iron Bowl upset for him to have any momentum towards starting once more when Nix is back to practice, which should be sometime next summer.
AU will be welcoming a 4-star gunslinger from Savannah, Georgia in Holden Gardiner, and current redshirt freshman Dematrius Davis should be in line for a bigger opportunity than he’s had in year one, where he has yet to take a single snap.
Finley may be the odd man out in the Tigers’ QB room moving forward should he fall short against Alabama in the regular-season finale.
That’s assuming, of course, he isn’t content with another season designed for him to be on the sidelines. It’s taken injuries two years in a row with two different schools for him to get the opportunity he seeks, but eventually the Louisiana native may want to be the starting from the onset of the season…and not just when the glass needs to broken in case of emergency.
With turnover for the Auburn football program in the offseason all but guaranteed if the ship doesn’t stop sinking in 2021, these two schools could transfer portal options for TJ Finley should he decide to enter it for a second time:
TJ Finley option #1 after a potential Auburn football transfer: North Carolina
North Carolina has been a pretty big disappointment in 2021 with all things considered. Rocking a legitimate Heisman candidate in Sam Howell under center, the Tar Heels have managed to win just six of their first 11 games and have lost to two of the conference’s bottom-feeders in Georgia Tech and Florida State. While granted, they did upset Wake Forest and ended their undefeated streak, this was the year many imagined from the preseason #10 in the AP Top 25.
Moving forward, the Tar Heels aren’t going to get that sort of hype. This was their year to cash in on having top-line talent and they barely became bowl eligible.
When Howell departs, two current underclassmen will get a chance to replace him: sophomore Jacolby Criswell and freshman Drake Maye. And neither of them are a superior option to TJ Finley.
Of course, the fact that Finley won’t be able to transfer directly to his next school–unlike in 2021 with the one-year immediate transfer window active–means the Tar Heels have time to add someone at the position before he is even eligible to play. 4-star Cornelius, NC product Tad Hudson is already set to join in 2023.
But Finley’s big arm could fit a high-powered UNC offense should their initial interest in him out of high school persist this coming offseason if Finley hits the portal.
TJ Finley option #2 after a potential Auburn football transfer: Louisiana Tech
If TJ Finley just wants to return back to his home state, there’s a ready made transfer destination in Louisiana Tech.
While Ruston, Louisiana is nowhere close to Finley’s hometown of Ponchatoula, the Bulldogs previously registered interest in the six-foot-seven gunslinger in his initial recruitment out of high school.
Given his SEC experience, it’d be okay to assume that Finley would be the starter in his final two eligible seasons (assuming he uses his extra COVID year) if he were to land with the current Conference-USA squad.
Current QB Austin Kendall will be gone by the time Finley is eligible, as will be backup Aaron Allen. Luke Anthony, JD Head, and Caleb Holstein will all still be around, but none are worth playing over Finley. 3-star Class of 2022 QB Landry Lyddy from Shreveport will have a chance to earn the job by the time Finley would be a factor.
After being at LSU and Auburn, Finley would be a big fish in a small pond with LA Tech, but making the Group of Five jump would be the best way to ensure a starting job for his final collegiate seasons.