Ed Orgeron on Auburn QB TJ Finley's exit from LSU: 'He was crying'

T.J. Finley on Saturday made his Auburn Tigers debut, a storyline that Tigers fans may not have seen coming with Bo Nix as a legacy starter. It was also a storyline that his backup, Louisiana native T.J. Finley, sure didn’t expect when he committed to LSU in 2018.

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin benched Nix on Saturday in favor of Finley, a sophomore, who checked into the game in the fourth quarter with Auburn trailing Georgia State 24-19. In his first appearance since leaving LSU, Finley ended up leading Auburn to a 34-24 victory.

A 6-foot-7, 246-pound sophomore from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, threw for 941 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions in 2020 at LSU. LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said Finley’s exit last season was an emotional one.

“Well first of all, when T.J. left, he came and talked to me like a man in my office,” Orgeron said of Finley’s departure. “He didn’t want to leave. He was crying. LSU meant a lot to him. I knew that, but it was a decision that was made, and it was best for him. He looks like he’s doing well, so we wish him the best. Not against us, obviously, but T.J. is always going to be a part of our family. He’s from Ponchatoula, he’s got a great family, so after the game we’re going to shake hands just like us playing Cody [Orgeron, Ed Orgeron’s son]. It’s family, but once we compete, we compete.”

Following LSU’s season-opening loss to UCLA, the Tigers hosted the McNeese State Cowboys, whose starting quarterback — Ed’s son Cody — is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in program history. Orgeron said he tried his best to approach playing his son the same way he would approach any other opponent, and he’ll treat Finley the same way: like family, but at the end of the day, as an opponent.

Orgeron understands that Auburn has not yet made it clear whether Finley or Nix will start under center against LSU. Nix, a former five-star recruit, got off to a terrific start in the first two games of the year. He completed a cumulative 29 of his 39 passing attempts for 383 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 30 yards. However, it’s worth noting that those two-straight 60-plus-point performances from Auburn’s offense came against Akron and Alabama State. Nix didn’t look like the same quarterback in Week 3 against a ranked Penn State team, throwing for 185 yards and no touchdowns. Finley, who made an appearance against Georgia State Saturday, completed nine of 16 passing attempts for 97 passing yards and a touchdown. He’s completed 56.5 percent of his passes in 2021 for 185 yards and two touchdowns, appearing in mostly garbage-time minutes against Alabama State and Akron.

“Both quarterbacks are very capable,” Orgeron said of Finley and Nix as LSU game plans for Auburn. “T.J., he came in there and what a tremendous job he did to win the game. He made some tremendous plays. As we know, T.J. is a great young man, a great young quarterback and he looks like he’s having a lot of success there. And we’re happy for him.”