TJ Finley discusses importance of extending plays, how he models game after Joe Burrow

Auburn quarterback TJ Finley recently won the starting quarterback job for the Tigers, beating out  Zach Calzada and Robby Ashford in a competition that prolonged throughout spring and fall camp. Finley added some extra mobility to his game this offseason and showed it off during fall camp, and the 6-foot-6 quarterback talked about how dropping some weight during the offseason attributed to that.

“I’ve dropped a lot of weight that I’ve been playing with for the past two years, I like to call it baby weight, but the last two seasons I’ve played around 250-249, I’m around 242-241 right now. I feel a lot better and I have been running around a little better. Especially I like playing with our defense because they know they can’t hit me, so when they think it’s a sack I like to run around and show off my wheels a little bit,” Finley said.

Finley also wanted to work on extending plays this offseason, understanding the value in that trait for a quarterback in the SEC facing some of college football’s best defenses in the country week in and week out. Finley said when doing so, he drew inspiration from Heisman Trophy winner and current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who led one of college football’s greatest offensive attacks to a National Championship at LSU in 2019.

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“But I think extending plays is what I focused on this offseason because in the SEC, just going back and watching LSU in 2019, just watching the SEC championship Joe Burrow extended so many plays to where Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson were able to get down field and make something happen. So it’s just plays like that and little stuff like that I like to keep focusing on to take my game to the next level,” Finley said.

Finley is a Louisiana native who attended LSU his freshman year, where he made five starts in 2020 following their National Championship run. He then transferred to Auburn where last season he made appearances in nine games and started the final three games of the season for the Tigers.

Finley was the only quarterback in the position battle to play snaps at Auburn previously, and his experience in the system and evolution as a quarterback paid off for him. Hopefully, for him and the Tigers this season he can channel his inner ‘Joe Brrr’ and lead them to some much-needed success with his arm and his legs.