After making five starts for the Tigers back in 2020, things didn't work out for TJ Finley in Baton Rouge. Since his departure from the LSU program in 2021, Finley has had a long and winding college career. Most recently with Tulane, Finley entered the transfer portal in April without having played a single snap with the Green Wave. He didn't commit to a team before the start of the 2025 season, but has now announced where he will play the rest of this season.
After stops at LSU, Auburn, Texas State, Western Kentucky, and Tulane, Finley has committed to Georgia State. It will be his sixth college team.
Former LSU QB TJ Finley heads to sixth college team
A native of Ponchatoula, LA, Finley was rated as the best quarterback prospect in Louisiana after a stand-out career at Ponchatoula High School. He chose to stay in Louisiana and attend LSU, and following an injury to Myles Brennan, Finley started five games for the Tigers as a true freshman in 2020. In those games, he completed 80 of his 140 pass attempts (57.1 percent completion percentage) for 941 yards and five touchdowns to go along with five interceptions.
Finley was with the Tigers for spring practice in 2021, but ultimately decided to enter the transfer portal. He chose to head to Auburn, where he played in 13 games over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. There, he threw for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions.
In May 2023, Finley entered the transfer portal again. He went to Texas State where he would put together the best season of his college career in 2023. Finley started all 13 games for the Bobcats and led the program to a record eight wins as well as the first bowl appearance in Texas State history. Finley completed 67.4 percent of his passes for a school record of 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions. The Bobcats would beat Rice in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl by a score of 45-21 with Finley throwing for 152 yards.
Shortly after Texas State's bowl win, Finley announced that he was transferring to Western Kentucky. He started three games for the Hilltoppers before going down a season-ending injury. In his short time at WKU, he totaled 490 passing yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.
In December 2024, Finley transferred to Tulane. However, his time back in Louisiana was short-lived, as he never played a single snap with the Green Wave. In April 2025, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported that Finley had been arrested on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things worth more than $25,000. Finley was suspended from the team indefinitely.
Now, Finley heads to Georgia State, which will be his sixth college team. The Panthers are 0-1 on the season after posting a 63-7 loss at Ole Miss this past Saturday. Quarterbacks Christian Veilleux and Cameran Brown combined for just 69 yards through the air, and while it's unclear when Finley will make his Georgie State debut, it's possible he sees the field sooner rather than later. Veilleux was Georgia State's starter for most of last season, throwing for 2,047 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. The Panthers host Memphis this Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET.