John Finch
Bio
Career: 2006 – 2009
Position: Long Snapper
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 250
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
High School:
Carmel High SchoolCareer Stats
Games Played: 18
Games Started: Long snappers don’t start
Tackles: 3
Perfectly Executed Snap Punt Snaps vs Michigan: 1
Notes
High School
- Honorable Mention all-conference as a tight end
- Carmel team captain
- Nationally Ranked Long Snapper
- Also played baseball for top ranked Carmel
Purdue
2006
- Walk-on
2007
- Appeared in 1 game as a reserve tight end
2008
- Appeared in the final 5 games as the long snapper
2009
- Appeared in all 12 games as a long snapper
Highlights
Cowboy Joe Tiller’s Last Stand
* The fake punt occurs at 1:05:10
Hammer and Rails Staff
Drew:
I did not anticipate having a long snapper on this list, but here we are, with a long snapper on this list. Needless to say, the options for #96 have been limited over the last two decades. The other
option was Khordae Syndor, who was a captain on the Vandy defense last season, but Ryan Walters couldn’t find a way to use him, but I digress.
Putting Finch on this list goes the credo of every long snapper:
The fewer people who know your name, the better.
If you know the name of a long snapper, it’s almost always because something went catastrophically wrong at the worst possible moment. You can send the ball back to the kicker with speed and precision 999/1000 times, but your entire career can be defined by the 1/1000 snap where you airmailed the punter in the conference championship game.
Luckily for Finch, he earns a spot on this prestigious countdown for executing a perfect snap to upback Anthony Heyward on a 4th quarter fake punt in what turned out to be the last flourish of magic for Cowboy Joe at Purdue. The 2008 season was an abject disaster, and a sad way for a coach who brought so much excitement to West Lafayette to end his tenure. Purdue only won 4 games in 2008, but the home win over Michigan may be one of the wildest college football games I’ve ever witnessed.
If you weren’t paying attention to Purdue football in 2008, I highly recommend watching the game I have posted above. In fact, even if you were paying attention to Purdue football in 2008, you should watch the above tape because it will momentarily make you feel good about Purdue football.
I’m going to leave it at that. If you don’t have time to watch the entire game, fast-forward it to the 4th quarter and buckle your seatbelt. I’m willing to bet this is one of the few, if not the only, games in the history of college football where one team executes a fake punt for a first down and a hook-and-ladder for a game-winning touchdown in the same quarter.
Joe Tiller would win one more game at Purdue after pulling off this miracle, a 62-10 drubbing of the hapless Hoosiers, before riding off into the sunset. This Michigan game was a throwback to the glory days of Boilermaker football under Coach Tiller, and John Finch played a small yet vital role in the final outcome.
