Auburn football: T.J. Finley back in the football complex after ridiculous cop run-in

As the story goes, Auburn football quarterback T.J. Finley was charged Thursday with attempting to elude police stemming from an earlier incident involving his failure to wear a helmet while riding a moped but is already back at the football complex.

Finley didn’t need such an off-field distraction as he tries to make one last push for the starting job, but this could be damning. Then again, Bryan Harsin may laugh this off just as Finley’s teammates did on Instagram Live. He certainly dealt with things being blown out of proportion this offseason.

Finley was booked in and posted a $3,000 bond, being issued traffic citations. He had turned himself in at the Lee County Jail.

What this means for the Auburn football QB situation

This feels like this could be the nail in the coffin for newly announced Amazon NIL sponsor T.J. Finley’s prospects to be QB1 on the Plains. Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada has long been seen as a heavy favorite to be the Tigers’ starting signal-caller, and Oregon transfer Robby Ashford may have special packages designed for his dual-threat skillset within new offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau’s schemes.

Had Finley put forth a better foot forward at A-Day, we might be having a different conversation right now. But it’s been an offseason of encouraging hype videos working with Ray Isaac, former FCS champion QB for Youngstown State, for Calzada coupled with the lingering hype of Ashford’s A-Day MVP performance.

With Holden Geriner having the mold of a Bryan Harsin QB and 2024 commit Adrian Posse and potential QB room 2024 classmate Air Noland possessing those appropriate traits down the road, the Tigers may just need to be bridged by one (or multiple) of the Tigers’ current upperclassman.

It just doesn’t seem like Finley will be that guy barring an injury (or several).