Finley ‘has a presence about him’

[aubiefifty 18,237]

Auburn OC Mike Bobo: T.J. Finley ‘has a presence about him’ at quarterback

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-7 minutes

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Mike Bobo has been high on T.J. Finley for some time. The veteran coach, in his first year as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, is partly responsible for bringing Finley to the Plains after he decided to transfer from LSU in the offseason.

Shortly after Finley entered the transfer portal in early May, the quarterback was vacationing in Fort Lauderale, Fla., with his girlfriend. Auburn running back Tank Bigsby happened to be doing offseason workouts in the area, and he called Finley to make a pitch to join him on the Plains. Auburn had Bo Nix, Bigsby told him, but the running back wanted Finley to be the Tigers’ quarterback once Nix moved on from college.

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Soon after that conversation, Bigsby invited Finley to his Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale, and the two called Bobo, who made his own pitch to the 6-foot-7, 246-pound quarterback. Finley committed to Auburn later that month and joined the program this summer. He competed with Nix for the starting job in fall camp, and though he never truly threatened to overtake the third-year starter, he remained patient.

Now, as Auburn heads into its final two games of the regular season without Nix—out for the year after ankle surgery earlier this week — it’s Finley at the reins of Bobo’s offense as the veteran coach prepares for a reunion with a South Carolina program he spent the 2020 season with.

“I don’t think the moment would be too big for him,” Bobo said Wednesday during an appearance on the Tiger Talk radio show. “He’s played in ballgames, he’s played in big ballgames, he’s played in other people’s stadiums in this league, and he’s got to go out and do his job to trust his teammates.”

Finley has appeared in six of Auburn’s 10 games this season, completing 17-of-33 passes for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with another rushing score added in. His time on the field has been limited, with the most substantial reps coming in the second half of Auburn’s 34-24 comeback win against Georgia State on Sept. 25.

That’s when Finley replaced a struggling Nix late in the third quarter and with Auburn down by five. He completed 9-of-16 passes for 97 yards and threw the game-winning touchdown to Shedrick Jackson on a broken fourth-down play inside the final minute. His playing time has been limited since then, but something has changed in the nearly two months since that relief appearance against the Panthers: He began receiving first-team reps in practice along with Nix, the coaching staff preparing him with the starters in the event his number needed to be called again.

Finley has always tried to prepare like a starter, which has shown that life as a backup can at times be more difficult. He has put in all the work of QB1 but without the gameday reps to show for them.

That everyday focus from Finley in his approach to the position has stood out to Bobo, though. It has embodied the 1-0 mentality that coach Bryan Harsin has tried to instill in the program from Day 1.

“It’s putting in the work, putting in the time, studying, and he’s been doing that even when he was a backup,” Bobo said. “… He’s preparing before we even had the meeting with the coach. And I think that’s always a good sign for guys that you’re prepared before the meeting even starts. Yes, we’re going to go over it again. But you’re so prepared you’ve got questions when I start going over the over the concept of that play. So that’s the one thing is, ‘hey, you know, respond the right way, come in here and work. It’s your show this week, and (you have to) take responsibility.’

“It’s a big responsibility, being a quarterback at any level, especially in this league. And you know, if you want to win on the road in this league, you’ve got to have good quarterback play to do it.”

Finley has handled his first week of practice as Auburn’s starting quarterback well, according to Bobo, who commended the sophomore for the way he has led the offense in practice this week and executed the gameplan as it has been installed. There are still things he is working on, and has been working on, fundamentally since he arrived at Auburn—footwork, balance, getting his back leg positioned properly so he can drive into his throws. As Bobo says, the quarterback position is a constant work in progress, and you’re never really a finished product.

But Finley’s work to date and his prior experiences, including that comeback effort against Georgia State, should help as he heads into his first start in an Auburn uniform. It’s just a matter of translating that to the field Saturday. Auburn and South Carolina are set for a 6 p.m. kickoff from Williams-Brice Stadium, with the game airing on ESPN.

“He’s got some poise; he’s got command,” Bobo said. “When he takes the field, he does a good job of leading the guys in not just getting them lined up — (but) taking over. You’re like a coach on the field as a quarterback, and he has a presence about him, and commands respect from the other guys, which is good to see.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[Guest MustardSeed]

Well they at least are saying the right things. Although we’ve been burned by that before (with previous staffs) so I’m cautiously optimistic. I do believe he will do decent at worst and likely have a pretty good game today. 

[aubiefifty 18,237]

3 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

Well they at least are saying the right things. Although we’ve been burned by that before (with previous staffs) so I’m cautiously optimistic. I do believe he will do decent at worst and likely have a pretty good game today. 

seven wins in the sec with a suspect line is pretty good. so lets get this one today! i will not be satisfied but i would be somewhat happy.

[DAG 34,760]

3 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

Well they at least are saying the right things. Although we’ve been burned by that before (with previous staffs) so I’m cautiously optimistic. I do believe he will do decent at worst and likely have a pretty good game today. 

"It sounds good."

[e808 3,091]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

seven wins in the sec with a suspect line is pretty good. so lets get this one today! i will not be satisfied but i would be somewhat happy.

U must mean a 7win season which still isn’t guaranteed. Currently won 3 games in the SEC

[aubiefifty 18,237]

1 minute ago, e808 said:

U must mean a 7win season which still isn’t guaranteed. Currently won 3 games in the SEC

yep. a lot of hope in that statement.

[JDUBB4AU 5,287]

Finely tear it up big man. It’s your day 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,046]

People are gonna say whatever to hype their QB up, but I will say, this guy definitely has kept that supernatural level of self-confidence he displayed since being recruited by Auburn 

[IronMan70 3,322]

If he can just get some longer pants he'll do just fine tonight. It won't matter because TJ is going to.......

BEAT SOUTH CAROLINA 

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by IronMan70

[au302 2,669]

If football doesn't work out for him he should go into politics. Watched his interview the other day and was blown away by how polished he is with the media for a college player. Extremely well-spoken

[auburnphan 6,050]

He is a natural leader, it should be obvious to anyone who spends time with the team.

[sevenlee36 1,708]

Like a ghost?

[woodford 3,732]

2 hours ago, au302 said:

If football doesn't work out for him he should go into politics. Watched his interview the other day and was blown away by how polished he is with the media for a college player. Extremely well-spoken

He’s a nice young man. Not a sniveling, corrupt, POS. 

[Old fan 47 799]

12 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

Well they at least are saying the right things. Although we’ve been burned by that before (with previous staffs) so I’m cautiously optimistic. I do believe he will do decent at worst and likely have a pretty good game today. 

Agree. He has a great arm, but it’s very inaccurate as Bo is and our D is complete s***. Fire Mason or risk sinking this team even further. His scheme sucks. This is a really bad football team. I would love to hear arguments, but Harsin has a lot of work and decisions to make. 

[Guest MustardSeed]

19 minutes ago, Old fan 47 said:

Agree. He has a great arm, but it’s very inaccurate as Bo is and our D is complete s***. Fire Mason or risk sinking this team even further. His scheme sucks. This is a really bad football team. I would love to hear arguments, but Harsin has a lot of work and decisions to make. 

Agreed. Mason needs to go as soon as the bama game is over. TJ is doing decent for his first start. The accuracy may get better as he settles in

[Old fan 47 799]

34 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

Agreed. Mason needs to go as soon as the bama game is over. TJ is doing decent for his first start. The accuracy may get better as he settles in

He may. The play calling by Bobo has been atrocious. We should have been running Tank so much more. Finley also can’t take a snap. And now I will say this AU needs a new QB and a new different OC and DC. This is so pathetic 3 weeks in a row. 

[aucanucktiger 1,891]

Not dropping so many snaps that hit him in the hands would help too. Kills play timing. 

[TigerPAC 1,021]

And T.J. forgot what a TE is...