Former LSU Quarterback TJ Finley Announces Transfer to Auburn

Finley stays in the SEC, will compete with Bo Nix for starting job.

TJ Finley didnt want to take too long to make his college decision and on Monday the former Tigers' quarterback announced he'd be transferring to Auburn. 

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— TJ Finley 1️⃣ (@tj_finley1) May 24, 2021

In order to give himself time this summer to adjust to his new school and also get to work with some of his teammates, Finley wanted to make an informed but quick decision. Heading into the highly anticipated decision, Finley was reportedly considering four schools: Alabama, Auburn, Penn State and Houston.

“Each school has given me an opportunity to compete for the starting job," Finley told AL.com. "Based on how comfortable I felt with that, I made my decision based off who I felt gave me the best opportunity to be successful."

As a freshman, Finley gained valuable SEC experience, starting five games after Myles Brennan went down with an injury that kept him out for all but the first three games of the season. In those five games, he certainly showed his potential but also had flashes of being a true freshman.

He completed 57% of his passes for 941 yards and five touchdowns but also threw five interceptions during his lone season in Baton Rouge. Finley said right after his transfer decision was announced that he wanted to go to a school where he could compete for a starting job right away, something he felt was too crowded of a room at LSU. 

"The main factor for me making this decision, I felt there was an opportunity for me to really show what I can do at another school," Finley said on the Jordy Culotta Show. "I felt like during the spring I was given that opportunity and things went well for me. I had a very good spring but it was just too many guys in our room that could play immediately. Somebody had to make the decision on which one was going to stay and which one was going to leave and I felt in my heart I could play at any Power 5 school in the country."

Finley figures to get that opportunity to compete for a starting job right away with Bo Nix as his primary competition. Nix is a veteran quarterback who has multiple years of experience as an SEC starter so it'll be important for Finley to build that chemistry with his new teammates this summer.