LSU Transfer QB TJ Finley COMMITS TO AUBURN!!!!!!!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

He’s really not too too much of a scrambler, so I don’t reference this name to say they have similarities, but this convo about this guy reminds me of the immediate hype you get after SEEING someone like a Joey Gatewood. That stature can speak volumes for you if you couple it with some talent

This guy CAN sit in the pocket and sling it, but I’m more excited to have him than some of the pure pocket guys we’ve seemed to be interested in 

[japantiger 4,051]

Has he named a date for a decision?

 

[AUpreacherman22 3,885]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:22 PM, subterranean_jack said:

Finley has a whole lot of talent. Reminds me of Jamarcus Russell.

Exactly what @fredstsaid.  Hopefully, TJ (whether he lands at AU or not) is physically gifted like JRuss, but more teachable and without the OTF issues.  

[bigbird 60,491]

JMO, I think we need TJ for depth and real, "competitive" competition at QB.

[W.E.D 11,070]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

JMO, I think we need TJ for depth and real, "competitive" competition at QB.

Kid doesn't need to be any talk of competing. He came in 3rd or 4th in LSUs open competition. He's really raw. 

I agree from depth and he needs to be a guy to sit and develop and then compete in 23 after Bo leaves 

[bigbird 60,491]

3 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Kid doesn't need to be any talk of competing. He came in 3rd or 4th in LSUs open competition. He's really raw. 

I agree from depth and he needs to be a guy to sit and develop and then compete in 23 after Bo leaves 

I disagree

[W.E.D 11,070]

5 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I disagree

It's not like you coach football or anything 😶

[DAG 33,973]

So how about we keep talking about and discussing how he has the opportunity to come in and compete ? Okay? Great 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

24 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I disagree

He should absolutely come in and compete right away. I am not saying put him 1B with Bo in Fall Camp, but let him and DD and Bo start close and see who flourishes and separates themselves.

 

Do we forget the kid looked pretty dang good after his first start at LSU? He was a TFR and then had a rough game against a decent Defense. Where was Joe Burrow on OSU's deoth chart? Asking for a friend. 

That argument that players who transfer shouldn't be able to compete on a new team because "they weren't good enough to beat out the players on the other team" is completely flawed. There are other factors and circumstances that have to be considered. 

[bigbird 60,491]

5 minutes ago, DAG said:

So how about we keep talking about and discussing how he has the opportunity to come in and compete ? Okay? Great 

IMO, TJ has a better arm and a prettier deep ball.  Nix has the upper hand due to spring ball, but it's a new O for him too. I'd let them fight it out and prove themselves to the coaches and their teammates.

[W.E.D 11,070]

5 minutes ago, DAG said:

So how about we keep talking about and discussing how he has the opportunity to come in and compete ? Okay? Great 

Sure everyone has the opportunity. DD has the opportunity. Doesn't mean either of them are going to or should start. 

Finley is a big kid and seems to have some talent and is the type of QB Harsin has had.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

IMO, TJ has a better arm and a prettier deep ball.  Nix has the upper hand due to spring ball, but it's a new O for him too. I'd let them fight it out and prove themselves to the coaches and their teammates.

And through that a quality PAIR of backups will be ready to go in for whoever does win the job.

[W.E.D 11,070]

7 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

Do we forget the kid looked pretty dang good after his first start at LSU? He was a TFR and then had a rough game against a decent Defense. Where was Joe Burrow on OSU's deoth chart? Asking for a friend. 

We must be looking at different stats. He threw for less than 200 yards 3 of his 5 starts.  

7 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

That argument that players who transfer shouldn't be able to compete on a new team because "they weren't good enough to beat out the players on the other team" is completely flawed. There are other factors and circumstances that have to be considered. 

Maybe that's being misinterpreted, bc it's not what I said. He can come in and compete but he needs to develop he's he isn't ready to start. He wasn't good last year and wasn't good during LSUs open competition. 

LSU doesn't have any good QBs, the Burrow comparison is kinda bad bc he was behind a Heisman trophy winner. Not a bunch of bums

Edited May 15, 2021 by W.E.D

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

6 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

We must be looking at different stats. He threw for less than 200 yards 3 of his 5 starts.  Bo looked better as a TfFr

Maybe that's being misinterpreted, bc it's not what I said. He can come in and compete but he needs to develop he's he isn't ready to start. He wasn't good last year and wasn't good during LSUs open competition. 

LSU doesn't have any good QBs, the Burrow comparison is kinda bad bc he was behind a Heisman trophy winner. Not a bunch of bums

Yea, but the point still stands. He was a Heisman caliber QB riding the pine. 

 

As for looking at different stats....I said after his 1st start. His first start he was 17-21 for 265 and 2 TDs. Then he came in to JHS and got humbled. I don't think anyone is saying name him the starter right now, but he should absolutely come in and be given the opportunity and I think he has every bit of what is needed to win the job. Will he? I have no clue. Can he? Absolutely.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Tigerpro2a

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

Yea, but the point still stands. He was a Heisman caliber QB riding the pine. 

Right he was behind a Heisman QB, not a bunch of scrubs. He's not ready to start. 

Also I love how everyone points to Burrow but many of those same people think Bo can't improve anymore. Burrow went from 57% to like 80% in a year. Elite coaching and especially schema can change a lot. 

 

[W.E.D 11,070]

20 minutes ago, bigbird said:

and a prettier deep ball

Bo over threw everything last year then under threw almost everything in the spring game. Hopefully it's a work in progress but that is definitely a weakness in Bo's passing game

[metafour 4,968]

14 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Kid doesn't need to be any talk of competing. He came in 3rd or 4th in LSUs open competition. He's really raw. 

I agree from depth and he needs to be a guy to sit and develop and then compete in 23 after Bo leaves 

The depth chart argument is misleading. LSU has what appears to be at least 2, if not 3 pretty good quarterbacks - Finley only got thrown into the starting spot last season because Brennan, who was playing well, suffered a season ending injury. Brennan is a Senior and appears to be the favorite at this point to win his starting job back even though Max Johnson played well when he replaced Finley. Finley wasn't ready and did struggle, but the fact that he even got the nod over Max Johnson initially shows that he was evaluated to be talented enough (otherwise why didn't they just start Johnson after Brennan went down).

In a crowded QB room, it's extremely difficult for someone in Finley's position who got thrown in too early and faltered to earn his way back in. It requires the other guys to s*** the bed also, but if that doesn't happen, then the guy who was forced in and struggled rarely ends up getting another shot. That's why he's transferring - QB isn't a position where players sub in and out or get multiple opportunities. 

If you really want to push the depth-chart discussion, where would Bo Nix sit on LSU's depth chart? I wouldn't take him over either Brennan or Johnson at this point. He's only been "locked in" as #1 at Auburn because there has literally been no one else. There were several times when - like Finley - he was bad enough to warrant pushing someone else in, but unlike LSU, we didn't have anyone else.  It's a bit of a fool's-errand to suggest than Finley has no basis to "push" Bo because one guy is "3 year starter" and the other "is 3rd or 4th in LSU's depth chart". Finley IS raw and needs work, but he's actually more versed in what will be Harsin's offense by way of coming from LSU. I think its a stretch to suggest that he'd hypothetically beat out Bo in a few weeks in the fall, but he could certainly push him. And like I said in another post - the more interesting hypothetical is that if we're ~3-4 games into the season and Bo Nix looks like he hasn't made much improvement, well, he's exhausted his million opportunities presented to him and now you've got a guy on the bench to rep-lace him with.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

2 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Right he was behind a Heisman QB, not a bunch of scrubs. He's not ready to start. 

Also I love how everyone points to Burrow but many of those same people think Bo can't improve anymore. Burrow went from 57% to like 80% in a year. Elite coaching and especially schema can change a lot. 

 

Regardless who he was behind, we don't know all the inner workings of that team and locker room. He could have gotten himself in the dog house with his coach. He might not have a good grasp of their offense. Who knows what all has transpired. Yes he fell way down as the season progressed. So did Bo Nix last year. I blame a lot of Bo's decline on coaching. Who is to say TJ was getting the proper coaching he needed? 

The point is when a player transfers to a new staff and team, sometimes they can flourish in a new environment  I use Burrow for an example because he was doing nothing at OSU. HE came to LSU and didn't look very good the first year and then he balled out when the environment around him aligned just right. None of that was going to happen at OSU.

You keep saying he is not ready to start...I don't think any of our QBs are "ready to start" in May so there you go. We agree.

[W.E.D 11,070]

10 minutes ago, metafour said:

The depth chart argument is misleading. LSU has what appears to be at least 2, if not 3 pretty good quarterbacks - Finley only got thrown into the starting spot last season because Brennan, who was playing well, suffered a season ending injury. Brennan is a Senior and appears to be the favorite at this point to win his starting job back even though Max Johnson played well when he replaced Finley. Finley wasn't ready and did struggle, but the fact that he even got the nod over Max Johnson initially shows that he was evaluated to be talented enough (otherwise why didn't they just start Johnson after Brennan went down).

In a crowded QB room, it's extremely difficult for someone in Finley's position who got thrown in too early and faltered to earn his way back in. It requires the other guys to s*** the bed also, but if that doesn't happen, then the guy who was forced in and struggled rarely ends up getting another shot. That's why he's transferring - QB isn't a position where players sub in and out or get multiple opportunities. 

If you really want to push the depth-chart discussion, where would Bo Nix sit on LSU's depth chart? I wouldn't take him over either Brennan or Johnson at this point. He's only been "locked in" as #1 at Auburn because there has literally been no one else. There were several times when - like Finley - he was bad enough to warrant pushing someone else in, but unlike LSU, we didn't have anyone else.  It's a bit of a fool's-errand to suggest than Finley has no basis to "push" Bo because one guy is "3 year starter" and the other "is 3rd or 4th in LSU's depth chart". Finley IS raw and needs work, but he's actually more versed in what will be Harsin's offense by way of coming from LSU. I think its a stretch to suggest that he'd hypothetically beat out Bo in a few weeks in the fall, but he could certainly push him. And like I said in another post - the more interesting hypothetical is that if we're ~3-4 games into the season and Bo Nix looks like he hasn't made much improvement, well, he's exhausted his million opportunities presented to him and now you've got a guy on the bench to rep-lace him with.

I don't think we disagree. Finely wasn't ready. Brennan is OK. He's probably similar to the Bo.

I want Finely. We need QB depth and I think he'll be good in the long run with more development. I'm just not confident he's going to replace Bo. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Kid doesn't need to be any talk of competing. He came in 3rd or 4th in LSUs open competition. He's really raw. 

I agree from depth and he needs to be a guy to sit and develop and then compete in 23 after Bo leaves 

Whats not spoken of is that Orgeron does play favorites with QBs from time to time. Basically ejected 3 QBs with how he named Brennan the back up QB to Burrow 

[metafour 4,968]

6 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

You keep saying he is not ready to start...I don't think any of our QBs are "ready to start" in May so there you go. We agree.

This is a very strong and important point. What makes anyone think that Bo Nix is ready to start? The fact that he's been the starter here for so long doesn't "conclude" that stance, as he is the starter by way of complete farce from the prior coach who got fired. He actually got arguably worse in his 2nd season here. He has graded out extremely poorly in all of PFF's advanced QB metrics.

It's a little silly to suggest that LSU has "no good QB's" and therefore the fact that Finley was "3rd" now concludes that he's nowhere near Bo Nix. Myles Brennan threw 11 TD's to 3 INT's at a 60% clip before he suffered a season ending injury last year. Max Johnson came in as a true Freshman and threw 8 TD's to 1 INT. Both guys outplayed Bo Nix and had higher QB ratings - so it seems to me that Bo Nix would be on the same spot on LSU's depth chart that Finley was.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Yes, I understand everyone thinks Bo is awful and will never be good. 

Just bc Bo is 100% going to be bad in everyone's opinion , it doesn't mean Finely is also very raw, young and would benefit from a year being a back up and learning. 

 

It's not like we are taking an established QB who has actually been good

Edited May 15, 2021 by W.E.D

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

Brennan and Johnson also had the advantage of looking impressive against literal garbage defenses 

Finley played ALL the good defenses they had on the schedule

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Brennan and Johnson also had the advantage of looking impressive against literal garbage defenses 

Finley played ALL the good defenses they had on the schedule

Arkansas and USC aren't good defenses. I'm not sure we were a good defense

Edited May 15, 2021 by W.E.D

[W.E.D 11,070]

Some talk Brennan might transfer too bc he wasn't named starting QB. 

Max Johnson was probably their best QB