Allister Edward "A. J." Finley Jr. (born September 14, 2001) is an American professional football safety for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss.
| No. 24 – Los Angeles Chargers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 14, 2001 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | St. Paul's Episcopal School (Mobile, Alabama) | ||||||
| College: | Ole Miss (2019–2022) | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| |||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2024 | |||||||
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Early life
editFinley grew up in Mobile, Alabama and attended St. Paul's Episcopal School. As a senior, he put up six interceptions.[1] On June 29, 2018, Finley committed to play college football at Ole Miss over other schools such as Duke, Iowa, Purdue, Tennessee, and Wake Forest.[2][3]
College career
editFinley played four years at Ole Miss and recorded 244 tackles, 8.5 being for a loss, eight interceptions, 13 pass deflections, four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown.[4] In his first season he posted 16 tackles, two for a loss, and two fumble recoveries.[5] However, in Finley's second season he had a breakout year putting up 62 tackles, two going for a loss, three interceptions, seven pass deflections, and a fumble recovery.[6] Finley's third season was his best collegiate year where he had 90 tackles, one going for a loss, three interceptions, including returning one for a touchdown, four pass deflections, and a forced fumble. For his performance on the year he was named an AP All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) second-team.[7][8] Finley also had an outstanding fourth year in 2022 where he posted 76 tackles, 3.5 being for a loss, two interceptions, two pass deflections, and a forced fumble,[9] After the conclusion of the 2022 season Finley declared for the NFL draft.[10]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) |
202 lb (92 kg) |
32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) |
9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) |
4.57 s | 1.63 s | 2.61 s | 4.22 s | 6.93 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
11 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11][12] | ||||||||||||
After not being selected in the 2023 NFL draft, Finley signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent.[13][14] Finley made the Chargers' initial 53 man roster out of training camp. After being inactive the first two games, he was waived on September 23, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad.[15][16] He was promoted back to the active roster on September 30.[17]
References
edit- ^ "AJ Finley". Ole Miss Athletics. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Berry, Zach (June 29, 2018). "3-star ATH A.J. Finley commits to Ole Miss". Red Cup Rebellion. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Potter, Davis (June 29, 2018). "Ole Miss' run on commitments continues with Alabama athlete A.J. Finley". The Oxford Eagle. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "A.J. Finley College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "2019 Ole Miss Rebels Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "2020 Ole Miss Rebels Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "2021 Ole Miss Rebels Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "AP All-SEC team". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. December 9, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "2022 Ole Miss Rebels Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Eckert, David (December 31, 2022). "Ole Miss football safety AJ Finley makes 2023 NFL Draft decision". Yahoo! News. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "AJ Finley Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout AJ Finley College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ Alper, Josh (April 30, 2023). "Chargers sign 18 undrafted free agents". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ Borquez, Gavino (April 29, 2023). "Chargers sign 18 undrafted free agents after 2023 NFL draft". USA Today. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Zack Bailey to Active Roster". Chargers.com. September 23, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Place Mike Williams on Injured Reserve; Sign Wide Receiver Simi Fehoko". Chargers.com. September 26, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "Chargers Place Corey Linsley and JT Woods on Non-Football Illness List; Sign Dean Marlowe and AJ Finley to Active Roster". Chargers.com. September 30, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.