TJ Finley

[Snaggletiger]

Who?  Mrs. Finley's boy.  Finley is a QB at LSU and is entering the continuum transfunctioner thingy.  He played some against Auburn last year as a true freshman, but he wasn't very good.  Overall last year, he was a whole lot of meh.  But then, overall last year, LSU was a whole lot of suck.  

He's 6'6" 242 with a rocket arm.  And he's talking openly about Co Harbinz and Co. trying to get him to Auburn.  He said they want him to come in and compete with Bo Nix for the starting job.  His response was that if he feels like he can beat Nix out, he's on his way.

Quite honestly, that's not very reassuring to me.  Certainly you'd never turn down a physical freak to come in and join the QB group.  And maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it sounds like they're not sold on Mr. Nix.  That may be a stretch on my part, but then again, he hasn't exactly been playing all-world foosballz so far.  I like to think that's a Gus thang, and not a Nix blows dealio.  

[wesfau2]

So our room would be:

Nix
Finley
Davis
Sandberg
Loy
Garnett
Lindsey
Pate

Seems unnecessarily crowded unless the staff isn't impressed with stars-in-the-making like Sandberg and Loy.

Also, Snags will be happy to hear that the future of the LS position is safe with Jacob Quattlebaum sitting there at SO and learning from the upperclassmen.

[Snaggletiger]

So our room would be:

Nix
Finley
Davis
Sandberg
Loy
Garnett
Lindsey
Pate

Seems unnecessarily crowded unless the staff isn't impressed with stars-in-the-making like Sandberg and Loy.

Also, Snags will be happy to hear that the future of the LS position is safe with Jacob Quattlebaum sitting there at SO and learning from the upperclassmen.

Not that he was going to push for playing time, but Mr. Sandberg left the building.  I believe he landed at Eastern Kentucky.  And the LS thing....the essence of wetness.

[CCTAU]

So our room would be:

Nix
Finley
Davis
Sandberg
Loy
Garnett
Lindsey
Pate

Seems unnecessarily crowded unless the staff isn't impressed with stars-in-the-making like Sandberg and Loy.

Also, Snags will be happy to hear that the future of the LS position is safe with Jacob Quattlebaum sitting there at SO and learning from the upperclassmen.

I saw that this post was today and I wondered how you missed that Sandberg and Garnett are gone.

[wesfau2]

I saw that this post was today and I wondered how you missed that Sandberg and Garnett are gone.

I'm clearly slacking on my duties.  I'll try harder.

So we lost a journeyman (good luck, sir) and a nobody frosh?

[Snaggletiger]

I saw that this post was today and I wondered how you missed that Sandberg and Garnett are gone.

So you're saying we definitely need Finley?

[Snaggletiger]

I also saw Pate on that list and thought I'm living under a rock. No idea.  Looked him up and it's Sawyer Pate.  Graduated from 7A Thompson High in 2019 and threw for 3,100 yards and 41 TD's.  Won State.

Assuming he walked on.  How does a kid throw for 41 TD's at the highest level in this state and not get a scholly somewhere?  Anyone know his story?  

[CCTAU]

So you're saying we definitely need Finley?

We need another talented QB. Can Finley play at this level? I’m not sure. He didn’t look great at LSU last season. But as said, LSU didn’t look so great last season. Can he be the guy eventually? I have no idea. 

[GH2001]

I also saw Pate on that list and thought I'm living under a rock. No idea.  Looked him up and it's Sawyer Pate.  Graduated from 7A Thompson High in 2019 and threw for 3,100 yards and 41 TD's.  Won State.

Assuming he walked on.  How does a kid throw for 41 TD's at the highest level in this state and not get a scholly somewhere?  Anyone know his story? 

Was a better QB for them than Tuarrr's brother the year before. It was night and day. 

[GH2001]

Who?  Mrs. Finley's boy.  Finley is a QB at LSU and is entering the continuum transfunctioner thingy.  He played some against Auburn last year as a true freshman, but he wasn't very good.  Overall last year, he was a whole lot of meh.  But then, overall last year, LSU was a whole lot of suck. 

He's 6'6" 242 with a rocket arm.  And he's talking openly about Co Harbinz and Co. trying to get him to Auburn.  He said they want him to come in and compete with Bo Nix for the starting job.  His response was that if he feels like he can beat Nix out, he's on his way.

Quite honestly, that's not very reassuring to me.  Certainly you'd never turn down a physical freak to come in and join the QB group.  And maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it sounds like they're not sold on Mr. Nix.  That may be a stretch on my part, but then again, he hasn't exactly been playing all-world foosballz so far.  I like to think that's a Gus thang, and not a Nix blows dealio. 

Im no huge fan of Nix but head to head last year....Bo Nix looked like a Heisman candidate compared to Finley.

[Kaos]

Im no huge fan of Nix but head to head last year....Bo Nix looked like a Heisman candidate compared to Finley.

I'm gonna disagree.  

The kid's got a huge, massive, explosive arm and one of the sweetest ball releases I've seen in a while.  His mechanics are at least as good as Nix and when I saw him play, he was willing to do the one thing Nix seems incapable of doing -- using the pocket.  

I don't know where his head is, but Finley's got significant potential.  I'm not sure what LSU was doing with him after he got thrown into the fire.  Their game plan didn't seem to play into his strengths.  Played in five games, completed 57% of his passes for just shy of 1000 yards.  Five TD, five picks.  QBR 118.  Pretty close to the same performance you got from Nix on average. 

Consider that he was an 18 year old, tossed into the mix when the starter went down and it wasn't the trainwreck you probably think you remember.  Somewhere on this board is my take on his first start.  He cut South Carolina apart, leading LSU to 52 points.  You remember the Gamecocks?  Nix was awesome against them throwing three interceptions in a loss.  

I'd be glad to have him on board.  Maybe he pushes Nix, because honestly he's sitting there knowing that he can throw the football straight into the ground on 24 consecutive plays and then take an 82-yard backward scramble loss and he's still in the game.  There's nobody off the bench to challenge him.  

[wesfau2]

I'm gonna disagree. 

The kid's got a huge, massive, explosive arm and one of the sweetest ball releases I've seen in a while.  His mechanics are at least as good as Nix and when I saw him play, he was willing to do the one thing Nix seems incapable of doing -- using the pocket. 

I don't know where his head is, but Finley's got significant potential.  I'm not sure what LSU was doing with him after he got thrown into the fire.  Their game plan didn't seem to play into his strengths.  Played in five games, completed 57% of his passes for just shy of 1000 yards.  Five TD, five picks.  QBR 118.  Pretty close to the same performance you got from Nix on average.

Consider that he was an 18 year old, tossed into the mix when the starter went down and it wasn't the trainwreck you probably think you remember.  Somewhere on this board is my take on his first start.  He cut South Carolina apart, leading LSU to 52 points.  You remember the Gamecocks?  Nix was awesome against them throwing three interceptions in a loss. 

I'd be glad to have him on board.  Maybe he pushes Nix, because honestly he's sitting there knowing that he can throw the football straight into the ground on 24 consecutive plays and then take an 82-yard backward scramble loss and he's still in the game.  There's nobody off the bench to challenge him. 

Fuck's sake.  We agree on most of this.

[Kaos]

Fuck's sake.  We agree on most of this.

You know you want it. 

[GH2001]

Again not a big Bo fan but they did go head to head last year. And it was a disaster for Finley. Perhaps both were misguided by horrid coaching and play calling. Benefit of the doubt there for both. But the biggest gain of adding him is what you said towards the end....to push nix. Because right now..bo has no competition in the locker room. And he needs some. 

[Kaos]

Again not a big Bo fan but they did go head to head last year. And it was a disaster for Finley. Perhaps both were misguided by horrid coaching and play calling. Benefit of the doubt there for both. But the biggest gain of adding him is what you said towards the end....to push nix. Because right now..bo has no competition in the locker room. And he needs some.

That was his worst game.  First start on the road. A week to get his head blown up after having a really good debut. Stupid coaching decisions to alter the gameplan they'd put in place when Brennan was the starter and try to get it done in a week. 

On the opposite side, though, the receivers he had at LSU (and they coaching they got) could make any QB look decent.  They were better than anybody at that position. 

I don't know how good he is or could be, but I saw him in several games.  He's one of the few QBs I've seen in a while where I thought "that kid could be really good with a little time and coaching."   

Reminded me of a mix between Jamarcus Russell and Dameyune Craig.  

[Buzz Killington]

Finley reminds me a little of my man Cal.

[GH2001]

That was his worst game.  First start on the road. A week to get his head blown up after having a really good debut. Stupid coaching decisions to alter the gameplan they'd put in place when Brennan was the starter and try to get it done in a week. 

On the opposite side, though, the receivers he had at LSU (and they coaching they got) could make any QB look decent.  They were better than anybody at that position. 

I don't know how good he is or could be, but I saw him in several games.  He's one of the few QBs I've seen in a while where I thought "that kid could be really good with a little time and coaching." 

Reminded me of a mix between Jamarcus Russell and Dameyune Craig. 

Russell was who first came to mind when I saw his footage and height/weight.

[Kaos]

Russell was who first came to mind when I saw his footage and height/weight.

His mechanics are better.  I think they are better than Nix.  Doesn't mean HE is better, but his ball release, the consistency, the almost always perfect spiral that's got a little zip on it?  All better. 

[CCTAU]

The guy breaking that video down doesn't seem to realize that most of those passes were pre-snap reads. And the other video only shows a few plays where he had to read the D. But even with the inexperience reading the D, he is dead on with most of his passes.
Does this mean that LSU thought Johnson was a better reader of defenses?

Will the Finley kid be stuck his whole college career making making bad reads look better because of his accuracy?
Its a tough call. But he definitely has a better upside than any other QB not named Nix on the AU tigers football team.

[Kaos]

The guy breaking that video down doesn't seem to realize that most of those passes were pre-snap reads. And the other video only shows a few plays where he had to read the D. But even with the inexperience reading the D, he is dead on with most of his passes.
Does this mean that LSU thought Johnson was a better reader of defenses?

Will the Finley kid be stuck his whole college career making making bad reads look better because of his accuracy?
Its a tough call. But he definitely has a better upside than any other QB not named Nix on the AU tigers football team.

I was mainly looking at his mechanics.  Footwork.  Release point.  Velocity.  Tight ass spiral.  He’s got that kind of arm that makes it look like he’s throwing a baseball.  I don’t dislike Nix. He doesn’t really have any of that.  He throws a football like it’s heavy.  

He’s raw.  No doubt. Question is whether he will take to being coached on the things you are talking about.  Nix never got any.  At least before now.  

Oddly I still run across early mock drafts that have nix as a first or second round pick next April.