College football’s ultimate nomad is on the move again.
Quarterback TJ Finley officially completed his transfer to Georgia State and was added to the program’s roster Monday. Georgia State represents the quarterback’s sixth different school. Here’s a full timeline of the whereabouts of the Josh Johnson of college football:
- LSU (2020) — 5 starts
- Auburn (2021-22) — 6 starts
- Texas State (2023) — 13 starts
- Western Kentucky (2024) — 3 starts
- Tulane (spring 2025)
- Georgia State (fall 2025)
Finley’s college career began as an early enrollee at LSU in January 2020. It didn’t take long for the 6’7”, 255 pound quarterback to find playing time for the reigning national
champions. After an injury to starter Myles Brennan, Finley took over the No. 1 QB duties, throwing for 941 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions.
That offseason, Finley selected a different SEC Tiger, electing to continue his quarterback journey at Auburn. He did not win the starting job in 2021 but concluded the year as the starter when Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury. However, his opportunity eventually arrived as he won a fall camp battle to be named as the 2022 Week 1 starter. Finley lasted three games in the role before Auburn switched to Robby Ashford for the remainder of the season.
The season Finley envisioned finally arrived in 2023 at Texas State when he started all 13 contests, leading the Bobcats to their first bowl game and win in program history. The 8-5 Bobcats thrived thanks to Finley’s career season which featured 3,439 passing yards on a 67.4 completion rate, complemented with 24 touchdowns to eight receptions. Finley also attained five rushing touchdowns in the Bobcats’ best season to date. He was initially committed to remaining at Texas State, but the program brought in former Washington State and Arizona starter Jayden de Laura to compete for the No. 1 job. Although de Laura wound up eventually leaving the program a week after arriving, Finley entered the transfer portal during the brief time he was on campus.
Finley’s portal entry landed him at Western Kentucky where he competed with Caden Veltkamp for the starting job. He won the gig and started the first three contests before suffering a lower leg injury in Week 3 at Middle Tennessee. Veltkamp provided relief duties and posted 398 passing yards on a 27-of-30 showing that game, delivering five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Veltkamp never relinquished the starting role, winning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and guided the Hilltoppers to the conference championship stage.
Finley entered the portal prior to WKU’s bowl game and landed at Tulane on Dec. 16 which lost starter Darian Mensah to the portal earlier that month. He competed with Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary throughout the spring session, but on Apr. 4, the quarterback was indefinitely suspended from the program due to an arrest for possession of a stolen vehicle.
That made Finley a free agent from April onward, but the quarterback found a new home one week into the 2025 season at Georgia State. The 27-game starter arrives with career statistics of 6,129 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, and a 62.9 completion percentage. He joins a Panther team fresh off a 63-7 decimation at Ole Miss where Christian Veilleux started the first half and Cameran Brown played the majority of the second half — combining to go 12-of-25 for 69 yards, with Veilleux contributing a touchdown and interception.
Georgia State hosts Memphis on Saturday, Sept. 6, hoping to manufacture a statement upset over Ryan Silverfield and the Tigers. Finley’s status for this game is unknown, but he is now officially rostered at his sixth school.
Finley, who started college in 2020, has two years of eligibility remaining (including this 2025 season) with a COVID redshirt, a redshirt for playing under four games, and a medical redshirt all factoring into play.
