Cal Football: QB Ben Finley Plans to Enter Transfer Portal

Finley started twice this fall but may have limited future with the Bears behind Fernando Mendoza.

Ben Finley, who started two games at quarterback this season, apparently sees no future for himself at Cal and announced Tuesday he will enter the transfer portal for the second year in a row.

Finley came to Cal from North Carolina State last summer and battled Sam Jackson V and Fernando Mendoza for the vacant starting job.

Jackson won the fall camp competition but Mendoza took over as the starter by midseason and figures to be the No. 1 quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Players cannot formally enter the portal until Dec. 4, but they are free to unofficially announce their intentions.

Finley announced his plans on social media:

Twitter

“I want to thank Cal and everyone involved for m time here,” he wrote. “Special thanks to Coach Spavital and Coach Wilcox for providing me with a chance to play and continue my academics!

“With that being said I will be entering my name in the portal as a graduate transfer with 2 years left!”

Jackson was injured the opening game at North Texas and completed 24 of 34 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ 58-21 victory. He started the next game against Auburn but gave way midway to Jackson.

Finley started again at Washington, completing 17 of 32 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns. But he was intercepted three times and saw only mopup duty in two games after that.

In six games this fall, Finley completing 54 of 94 passes (57.5 percent) for 572 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions.

Finley was brought to Cal as a quarterback with college experience, having started the final two games the 2022 season at N.C. State. He also came off the bench to spark a win over rival North Carolina.

Jackson, whose potential as a dual-threat quarterback initially earned him the job, is injured and has not appeared in a game since Sept. 30 against Arizona State. It’s unclear whether he intends to remain at Cal, where he likely would enter spring practice as the No. 2 QB, or also move on.

Jackson spent his first two years at TCU, but left for Cal because he was projected as the Horned Frogs’ third-stringer entering last spring.

Cover photo of Ben Finley by Joe Nicholson, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo