Former Auburn QB TJ Finley Finds Seventh School with Recent Signing

TJ Finley played two seasons at Auburn, the second of seven schools he has been a part of.

Former Auburn Tigers quarterback TJ Finley is now set to make his seventh stop of a long career. | John Reed-Imagn Images

Quarterbacks for the Auburn Tigers have certainly made a splash in this year’s transfer portal, with names like Deuce Knight, Ashton Daniels, Jackson Arnold and even former Auburn quarterback Walker White making headlines as they transfer to their new schools. TJ Finley, not to be left out, on Tuesday was reported to have signed with Incarnate Word, an FCS program.

Incarnate Word has signed quarterback TJ Finley, @chris_hummer and I have learned.

Finley, who has played at LSU, Auburn, Texas State, Tulane, Western Kentucky and Georgia State, has 7,372 career passing yards. pic.twitter.com/8qusBe4lxR

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 14, 2026

Finley played for the Tigers for two seasons, after transferring in from LSU, where he was signed as a three-star out of high school in 2020. In his time at Auburn, Finley was a part of Bryan Harsin’s two-quarterback system with Robby Ashford and passed for just over 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. 

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After the 2022 season, Finley departed from the Tigers and chose to sign with Texas State, where he had his best season to date. Finley passed for over 3,000 yards with Texas State and tacked on 24 touchdowns for good measure.

Then, he transferred to Western Kentucky the following year, looking to find his way back up to the ranks he’d once inhabited in the SEC, but struggled immensely. He completed 48 of 75 passes for 490 yards, threw just one touchdown and was responsible for two interceptions.

He followed that up by transferring to Tulane but never played a game with the Green Wave. In the spring of 2025, Finley was suspended indefinitely by the team following an arrest on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things worth more than $25,000.

Most recently, Finley transferred to Georgia State, where his passing yards resurged but his decision-making did not. Though he threw for over 1,200 yards with the Panthers, he threw seven interceptions to just six touchdowns.

Now, Finley’s set to play at Incarnate Word, an FCS program in the Southland Conference. Last year, the Cardinals went 5-7 with a 3-5 conference record, so there’s certainly room for improvement, and Finley may just be their guy.

Perhaps the seventh time is the charm for Finley, who has never stayed at a program longer than two years. He’ll certainly need to return to the form of his Texas State days, but those may be behind the 23-year-old.