Western Kentucky QB TJ Finley will face Alabama for the fourth time with his third different school

TJ Finley has turned into one of college football’s wanderers, traveling from program to program over the past five seasons since he first suited up for LSU in 2020. Since leaving the Tigers, he’s played for Auburn and Texas State, and he’s now at Western Kentucky.

And just about everywhere he’s been, he can’t seem to escape Alabama.

This weekend, for the fourth time in his college football career and in his third different jersey, Finley will look across the field to the opposite sideline and see the Crimson Tide. He’s been named the starting quarterback for Western Kentucky ahead of its season opener in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in what will also be the first game for Kalen DeBoer as the Tide’s head coach.

While DeBoer hasn’t faced Finley before, some of his players and assistant coaches have, he told the Tuscaloosa News this week:

“We are familiar with who he is because of different places he has played and even some of our staff having competed against him. So, you’re trying to translate that into what you see for a schematic standpoint for Western Kentucky.”

So far, Finley – like a whole lot of other quarterbacks out there – is winless against Alabama.

Here’s how he’s fared against the Tide:

• Dec. 5, 2020: Completed 14-of-28 passes for 144 yards and touchdown in a 55-17 loss for LSU.
• Nov. 27, 2021: Completed 17-of-26 passes for two scores and a pick in a 24-22 loss for Auburn.
• Nov. 26, 2022: Did not enter the game in a 49-27 loss for Auburn.

And Finley never played against Alabama in his lone season at Texas State last year, but he did carve up a South Alabama team then coached by now-Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, throwing for 368 yards and three touchdowns in a win for the Bobcats.

Wommack told the Tuscaloosa News:

“Big son of a gun… Really impressed with him a year ago. I thought he’s got a really good release. He can make all the throws. I thought he did a really good job of managing their offense really well. Took what was given early but can work through a progression.”

If the fourth time is the charm for the 6-foot-7 Finley against Alabama, it’ll be an incredible upset. The Tide are favored by 31.5 points.

One thing that will be new for Finley: He’s never taken a snap in a game in Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.

And he’s looking forward to the challenge, telling the Bowling Green Daily News:

“Being a young buck in the SEC can test your mental a lot. I feel like just being a veteran on this group of men that we’ve got on this team right here, mentally, physically it’s going to make a big difference this time… I think we’ve got a shot to go in there and put up some points.”