Auburn QB T.J. Finley misses week of practice, status remains unclear before Texas A&M game
AUBURN — Junior quarterback T.J. Finley remains absent from Auburn football activities and practices, sources tell Auburn Live.
He didn’t travel to Mississippi State, as interim head coach Carnell Williams cited Finley needing a “mental break” as the reason. Finley traveled home to Louisiana last weekend and has yet to return to practice.
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The former LSU transfer missed practices all week according to sources. One source said of Finley’s situation, “nobody knows, people haven’t seen him.”
Finley is still officially listed on the team’s two-deep depth chart as of Monday’s game-week press conference when game notes are handed out to the media.
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Sources also tell Auburn Live that the Finleys weren’t on a conference call this week with players, parents and interim coach Williams, where the discussion centered around academic expectations.
Auburn Live continues to report that Finley is strongly considering entering the transfer portal yet again, and it’s more a matter of when, not if. Will he return to the team as an option if Robby Ashford isn’t available to play? Or is he quietly done playing football for Auburn?
According to sources in the meeting, Finley’s mother expressed disgust that the players and parents found out about the firing of Bryan Harsin like everyone else – through the media. She was not happy. She also said she expects her and the parents to be notified of the new coaching hire, to be kept in the loop.
Finley started the first two games of the season before suffering an injury to his throwing shoulder against Penn State. He was unavailable for the next three games. He played one series against Ole Miss in which he was sacked and fumbled. Finley dressed against Arkansas, but didn’t see the field.
He won the starting quarterback job after a battle in fall camp with Robby Ashford and Zach Calzada. Harsin often pointed to Finley’s knowledge of the offense and understanding of the process as reasons Finley won the job.
He has thrown for 1,258 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions while at Auburn. He lead the Tigers to wins over Mercer and San Jose State this season, and a game-winning touchdown drive against Georgia State last season. Auburn went 0-3 last season with Finley starting, losing to South Carolina, Alabama and Houston.
