Needing more than one hand to count achievements is an esteemed accomplishment in the sports realm.
Barry Bonds needs both of his hands to count the number of MVP awards he won in his MLB career, as he holds the league record with seven trophies. The same goes for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who took home six NBA MVP awards — the most ever — during his illustrious career on the hardwood.
Then there is the GOAT Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls, surpassing any other player in NFL history by two Lombardi Trophies.
TJ Finley, meanwhile, also needs two hands to tally up a different type of achievement, but one not as highly regarded as the others.
In seven years in college, Finley threw for more than 7,300 passing yards, with 43 touchdowns to 27 interceptions. But those stats are not the ones that are awe-inspiring. It is these.
The 24-year-old signed National Letters of Intent with seven programs, entered the NCAA Transfer Portal six times, and played for five of those seven programs.
Finley collected colleges like Thanos did Infinity Stones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Ponchatoula High star began getting stamps on his college football passport at LSU. His highlight was his first start that 2020 season against South Carolina, when he completed 80% of his passes for 265 yards with 2 touchdowns and rushed for another score in a convincing win. Finley would never reclaim that magic and lose the starting job to Max Johnson a few games later.
Finley jumped into the portal and landed at Auburn, and after two forgettable and injury-filled years, he went to Texas State, where he had a tremendous season for the Bobcats. A year later, he made his way to Western Kentucky, but after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3, Finley transferred to Tulane in the spring. He never played a down for the Green Wave, as he was booted off the team for possessing stolen property — a Dodge Ram truck, to be exact. He jumped in the portal again and landed at Georgia State.
After splitting time last season, Finley went back into the portal yet again to search for another stone — apparently his personal gauntlet of college swag was not complete — and so he committed to Incarnate Word. He apparently changed his mind and declared for the NFL Draft instead.
Exhausted yet? Imagine how his family members feel trying to keep up with where to send care packages or Christmas cards.
Even though Finley may be the poster boy for indecisive star players, he is far from alone.
Former St. James star wide receiver Shazz Preston started his career at Alabama, then went to Tulane, and has now transferred to the defending national champion Indiana.
Edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye has played for Texas A&M, Michigan State, Texas State, UNLV, and now Syracuse, while defensive tackle Tomiwa Durojaiye is on his fifth team in five years, leaving Illinois for South Carolina.
The changing of teams has become prominent among star quarterbacks. And you just thought Jennifer Lopez had commitment problems with six engagements and four marriages on her ledger…
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel played for UCF and Oklahoma before ending up in Eugene. LSU’s Sam Leavitt began his journey at Michigan State, then Arizona State, and is now calling Baton Rouge home.
Finley’s former LSU teammate Max Johnson is on his own journey. He is now on his fourth team in seven years, playing for LSU, Texas A&M, North Carolina, and now at Georgia Southern.
ESPN’s former top prospect in the country, Malachi Nelson, committed to Oklahoma out of high school but followed Lincoln Riley to Southern Cal. After one year, he transferred to Boise State but barely played in 2024. Nelson jumped back in the portal and landed at UTEP, but is back in the portal again.
There is also Patrick Mahomes cosplayer Dylan Raiola, who showed a zeal for different schools shortly after earning his driver’s license.
Raiola went to two different high schools before committing to Ohio State and then de-committed. He then went to a third different high school, and while there, committed to Georgia, and then went to high school in the Peach State before decommitting from UGA. He signed with Nebraska and played there for two seasons before entering the portal, and now he is at Oregon.
Commitment issues?
Before Finley, there was the godfather of quarterback transfers, former Zachary High star Lindsey Scott Jr.
He started off at LSU where he was redshirted, then after a year went to East Mississippi Community College where he started and helped the team win the NJCAA national championship. He then signed with Missouri for a season, but only served as the scout team QB before being injured.
Scott went back into the portal and transferred to Nicholls, where he had to sit out a year due to NCAA rules. He would play two seasons in one year in 2021 and then, taking advantage of the COVID-19 bonus year, transferred one final time to Incarnate Word.
Scott would finally have the season he imagined, earning All-American honors after setting a new FCS record with 60 touchdown passes, and was awarded the Walter Payton Award — the FCS’s Heisman Trophy.
And as much ridicule and mockery may come their way, it hasn’t hurt the quarterbacks’ value. Even though Finley isn’t even on the boards as a possible draft prospect due to his late declaration, he still made NIL money along the way. Money needed for his family.
Not to mention, transfers have claimed the Heisman Memorial Trophy four years in a row, and seven out of the last 10. The hoarding of officially licensed college swag has not hurt prospects’ ability to be selected high in the NFL Draft.
The three quarterbacks selected in the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft played for at least two schools each. No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward (Incarnate Word, Washington State, and Miami), while Saints quarterback Tyler Shough also played for three (Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville).
In the 2024 NFL Draft, there were six quarterbacks selected in the first round, and four of those signal callers (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix) all started for two different programs in college.
As did this year’s projected No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.
Is it ludicrous that players are playing for three, four, five, and even more teams in a college career? Yes. Is it a reflection of putting one’s own self-interests over the brotherhood of being part of a team and being part of something bigger than you? Yes.
But this became acceptable by head coaches and athletic directors long before the portal and NIL. When coaches could leave in the middle of the night to take another job and bounce from program to program due to receiving more money or power, the athletic directors were complicit because they were the ones making the moves and signing the checks.
As much as we may want the Finleys of the world to be the villains in this saga, they are not. They are just playing the board that was set for them by older men who craved accomplishments.
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3 & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.
