Former Tulane Quarterback Enters Transfer Portal After Suspension From Team
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The Tulane Green Wave football team is finalizing their quarterback room ahead of the college football season, and that left one odd man out in the shuffle.
Pete Nakos of On3 Sports reports that former Tulane football quarterback TJ Finley is entering the transfer portal after unexpected factors off the field transpired.
Finley was arrested on charges in connection with a stolen vehicle he purchased in Atlanta early in April, leading to him being suspended indefinitely from the program pending legal matters.
It’s an unfortunate trajectory for the quarterback who head coach Jon Sumrall claimed was leading the race ahead of Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary prior to his departure.
Finley’s collegiate career began in 2020 with the LSU Tigers, and one season later he joined the Auburn Tigers. His third—and most productive—stop was with the Texas State Bobcats.
Finley completed 279 passes for 3,439 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, and added five rushing touchdowns to his resume.
The Green Wave marked Finley’s sixth program when he committed back in December after one season with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
His 2024 campaign for the Hilltoppers saw Finley throw for 490 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in three games.
Perhaps shockingly, or not in today’s landscape, Finley still has two seasons of eligibility remaining as he enters his sixth season of college football.
At this stage in the process, Finley electing to enter the portal isn’t surprising at all. Sumrall has been clear about the need for another quarterback and that Tulane was potentially in the market for a starter.
They’ve been linked to several high-profile quarterbacks in the portal and recently finalized that position with the addition of former Iowa Hawkeyes’ Brendan Sullivan, who committed on Thursday.
While Sullivan wasn’t a starter and spent last season as a backup with short-yardage and goal-to-go packages, he brings credible experience to the room.
Sullivan also offers an element of athleticism that Semonza and Leary haven’t quite displayed in his time with the Hawkeyes and previously the Northwestern Wildcats.
He has 176 career rush attempts through three seasons for 407 yards and seven rushing touchdowns, four of which he ran in last year when he averaged 15 yards per game on the ground.
As the Green Wave looks to cultivate the next starter under center between Semonza, Leary and Sullivan, Finley will be looking for his seventh program and a chance to reset.
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Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com