Should the Ohio State Buckeyes Pursue TJ Finley in the Transfer Portal?

should Ohio State snag a quarterback TJ Finley out of the transfer portal some will say yes some will say no we'll discuss both sides of the equation during today's episode of Lafayette you are locked on Buckeyes your daily podcast on the Ohio State Buckeyes part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day laughs what's up Buckeye fans welcome back to another episode of Locked on Buckeyes for the locked on podcast the network I'm your host Jay Stevens also the host of the day Steven's podcast it is Thursday May 4th of the Year 2023 and I want to thank you for making lots on Buckeyes your first enlisted our first watch of every single day during today's episode we will discuss how adding a quarterback at this point of the off-season impacts the QB room and a couple players at Ohio State's offer the line that need to be leaders in 2023 but first there's a quarterback out there it's played for a couple SEC schools that is currently in the transfer portal the window closed he into the portal as a grad transfer and he has decided he does not want to play in Auburn anymore he wants to play for another college football team to use up and exhaust the rest of his eligibility T.J Finley and according to sportsreference.com it's in the six foot seven 246 pounds I said it earlier he has played for three schools so far LSU has restarted his career ended up playing at Auburn transfer from LSU to Auburn after his freshman year there in Baton Rouge in the past couple years he's been in Auburn start of the years Auburn's Kitty won a year ago ended up having a shoulder injury missed games due to it and did not regain his starting spot once he came back to being healthy enough to play the football I put all that context there for this reason Ohio State's cutie battle is not settled and if it's settled it's not on Front Street and from what I saw on the spring game what we all saw in the spring game comma Court can be qv1 at Ohio State in the fall but right now he's not the clear-cut guy in my eyes to be giving one at Ohio State now based off the battle and based off the things we have seen on the field because we have not seen Devin Brown most of us have not seen Devin Brown play quarterback at Ohio State during the off-season because he's currently injured in comes the conversation should the Buckeyes add TJ Finley out of the transfer portal I think it's a valid question to ask especially when you do a quick search quick Google search didn't take me long to figure this out earlier this year TJ Finley was on campus at Ohio State now he was not in the portal I don't believe he entered the first portal window and so you kind of gonna move pretty uh discreetly and quietly when you're moving in the off season to possibly be at another school why was he at Ohio State in January I have no idea but it could be because he wanted to see or talk to some of the players be on campus maybe he was trying to figure out that was the right place for him to go if he decided to transfer from Auburn when it comes to him the player I am not sold on him as being a qb1 kind of quarterback at Ohio State he played five games at LSU in 2020. he played nine games at Auburn in 2021 played four games a year ago at quarterback for the Auburn Tigers first career he's thrown 2199 passing yards 12 touchdowns 10 interceptions a career pass uh career completion percentage of 57.0 a year ago he had the most the best completion of percentage he's had in his college career 62.3 8.1 yards per attempt only through one touchdown a year ago in four interceptions if we just went to a year ago with those numbers you could probably guess and understand why he did not regain his starting spots when he was held it up to play and he returned to the football team after recovering from his shoulder injury I don't know I've never been sold on him and I don't know if the play people at Auburn were after he went down a year ago he's a decent quarterback he's an okay quarterback trying to be not a little nicer at the beginning of today's show also I do think he'll be a power five starting quarterback in the upcoming season but one thing I do believe Ryan day and Brian Hartline want out of their qb1 is a guy who can make all the throws I could have said Elite passer but how about we make it a little bit uh put a little definition or something that's a little bit um descriptive in the kind of quarterback the coaches won the coaches want a quarterback that can make all the throws or a quarterback who is pursuing and making strides to make all the throws now I don't expect either record or uh Devin Brown or even TJ Finley if he comes in I just don't think it'll be a wise move to make it to be Justin fields or to be CJ Stroud or to even be Dwayne Haskins those guys are special now McCord and brown could be special as well I just don't think that's the kind of quarterbacks they're going to be at Ohio State once they are labeled qv1 any future college football season TJ Finley say Okay quarterback but from the sample size that we have seen yeah he started the end of the season as Auburn's qb1 at the end of 2021 okay cool I understand it but I also don't really think that the game families put out there where there's three years playing college football that this is the kind of individual the athlete the player not thinking he's a bad person I don't want to go that far but I don't believe he is the kind of quarterback that they are going to put up and say you are the kind of guy we're going to bring in in the month of May a few months prior to the season starting for you to come in and you join Ohio State in the thought that you're going to be qb1 I only think he's going to transfer to a school where he is going to be labeled the starter when he is there Auburn down now down there in Auburn there's a possibility that they may now get Casey Thompson with TJ Finley being gone Casey Thompson former Texas quarterback former Nebraska quarterback now this young man is possibly going to the SEC great good for you go do your thing Casey Thompson and TJ Finley I hope you have a great year in the upcoming season I hope you're 2023 allows you to start all regular season games and if whatever School you played for plays for a bowl game or in a conference Championship game I hope you're healthy enough to play there as well but I don't believe the Buckeyes pursuing Casey Tom excuse me pursuing TJ Finley in the transfer portal is a wise decision for them to make and my thought on this would be the same if it were in January or February now it's a little bit more we're a little bit deeper into the off season so I have a little bit more um thoughts on my head as far as why I'm making this statement now but I wouldn't do it I wouldn't do it if he was a better Pastor he showed that he could be more of a consistent passer um he's not really a dual threat the running numbers really really aren't there which is why I didn't mention him earlier he has three rushing touchdowns on his career um but his career um rushing yards per carry average is less than a yard now granted keep in mind that does take in negative Sac yardage and that gets added to that number or subtracted so take that for what it's worth but you're averaging less than a yard per carry three rushing touchdowns I just don't think the running game is a part of his thing passing I seem to play a little bit not all not not a lot but a little bit I've really been impressed okay I can say he'll be a starting quarterback it's probably not at the Ohio State University in 2023. now even though TJ Finley might not be the quarterback they added the Buckeyes add to the roster they can still go out and add somebody to the roster this month maybe in June probably not that late in the game how would that impact the quarterbacks at Ohio State's quarterback room if they add a quarterback this late into the off season we'll discuss that next right here on lockdown Buckeyes this 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and then grab a 13 bar box with our hitch flavors brownie batter Puffs and churro puff you can thank me later thanks Big Lots on Buckeyes your first listen every day make sure you subscribe to locksmith Buckeyes on the YouTube on the Apple podcast or on the Spotify on the Odyssey app wherever you get your fine podcast make sure you subscribe to love to unbuck guys so you stay up to date with all the information about your Ohio State football and basketball teams so there's a thought by some that a team a college football team could add or will add a player this late in the off season or at this point in the off season it's currently May 4th Labor Day weekend is right around the corner we'll be here before you know it yes we got a couple got a few holidays got Mother's Day coming up you got my boy all day hit coming up you got Father's Day you got the Fourth of July but all of those things will be smack dab joint together and before you know it it'll be Labor Day weekend the Buckeyes will be playing the Indiana Hoosiers on the road to open up the season it will be looking at Ohio State and being excited about the start of another long football season where the Buckeyes can win the national championship but if you're gonna think about making your roster better you have to be strategic and specific about what kind of players you bring in especially at this time of year I am a person that believes and I think a lot of people will as well if you bring a player in at this point in the game you're probably going to start in the upcoming season or you know they're probably going to start at some point in the future why because you just it's gonna be rare we're gonna bring somebody in to come in and also you're probably gonna be a play a team or a player excuse me that if you're entering the portal right now it's probably because you're not going to start at the school you are you are currently at or if you're in the shoes of Peyton Thorne you might just want to get a different a different place A new scenery and maybe the way things went in the spring didn't really weren't really conducive to how you think um you want things to go so you go ahead and transfer so be it I get it Casey Thompson talented guy but for him he's like hey it's time to go elsewhere so be it in Ohio State's in a very unique situation in college football because they're an elite program they're not just any league program in Maine they're an elite program in productivity and the amount of players they put the draft and how they develop players and that's the conversation we're going to have later on in the show because I do believe that the development is something that you say oh hashtag developed here why aren't more guys being developed into pro pro Talent Pro Prospects draft picks we'll discuss more of that in future weeks and more later on in the offseason as the off-season rolls on but if you're going to be a team that's going to bring in a guy this time of year you're going to be strategic specific there's a good chance that guys are going to start you're bringing Josh Simmons former San Diego State tackle off of The Tackle six foot six six five or six six three hundred and five pounds a guy who was a a really good piece of the pie for San Diego State on that part of the country even though it was a lesser level of football a lot of guys do end up transferring up and playing really good football when they make that move I believe Simmons is going to be a guy who does that very thing at the same time keep this in mind many people already think he's going to come in and start and he will not transfer to Ohio State and Ohio State would not accept his transfer right now if they already had their off bunch of line already set in stone they don't there are questions the only guys two guys that I do believe are set in stone as starters in their positions Donovan Jackson that left guard Matt Jones excuse me Donovan Jackson at left tackle Matt Jones acts right to guard I believe those are the only three that only two that are set the other three still up for grabs yeah you got guys that are Front Runners but I don't think they've submitted their spot as a starter on the book guys in the upcoming season you gotta be very strategic because especially when it comes to the quarterbacks there aren't many of them now there are more quarterbacks maybe four or five on the roster than guys that are going to be for sure tackles left tackles specifically for the Buckeye so the offensive line room is bigger as a whole but for a position by position it's not the same way but for quarterbacks you got Common Core you got Devin Brown you got Tristan jebia the top two will be the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart and the third one jebia will be qb3 for the Buckeyes if you bring a guy in right now it can mess with the chemistry it could shake things up yes it can add more competition it could bring out something from the other guys that are there that are in the top of the competition he'd be starting quarterback at Ohio State it could bring something out of them that you did not know they had you said oh okay I know he just brought this guy in but I'm seeing this out of you right now and I like what I see buddy come on come to me come be my starting quarterback because you're showing me everything we need to see from you for you to be labeled qb1 for the Buckeyes it gotta be very very picky very picky I know people in life some people say you're people are really really picky some say people are not picky enough some say the people that are really picky they're stuck in their ways they won't change some people that you say that are not picky enough they're stuck in their ways they won't change they get the gist you gotta be someone that maybe you're right through in the middle you got friends that are really really picky you got some friends that are not so picky that maybe um too free to make certain decisions or to add some people to their lives or to tell certain people certain things about their lives whatever it is you might be somebody to smack dab in the middle you're not too picky you're not someone that's um not picky enough you're kind of right there in the middle and that might need to be a place where Ohio State needs to be now Ohio State also is very strategic and specific about just athletes they bring in not guys that um they bring in this time of year just athletes and the players they recruit not just at the high school level but also at the Collegiate level guys that are currently in the transfer portal they're very very strategic which is why I do believe one they wouldn't go out they they may think about TJ Finley I don't think they'll bring him in I don't think he's a god they should go after but two if they do bring him in they realize this could shake things up and won't think Tristan jebedia Oregon State transfer quarterback said upon transferring to Ohio State he liked the QB room he liked the culture he liked the guys one thing that came and Report out of spring practice was that all three of these quarterbacks Devin Brown Cobble Court Tristan jebia they get together and you know if you bring somebody into this mix right now buddy it could shake things up drastically gotta be picky gotta be smart but in regards to the offer the line they're bringing in all for the tackle that was a need there was an easy to bring somebody in ultimately I'm not sure that he is that's great at quarterback for Ohio State to go out there and to bring a quarterback in this late at this point in the off season I do believe TJ Finley will be a starting quarterback at Ohio excuse me change that really quickly I do believe TJ Finley will be a starting quarterback the fall somewhere in college football I just don't think it'll be for your Ohio State about guys for the Buckeyes in the fall there are a couple offensive linemen that need to step up and be leaders every time they're on the field in locker room practice facility every second of the day who are these two individuals we'll discuss the next right here on laptop buckets this episode is brought to you by Billiards plus Billiards plus ads the best selection of pool tables game tables shuffleboard tables and more and the best service in central Ohio Billiards plus also can set you up with a brand new top of the line grill that will last for Generations we all know how hard it is with the supply chain issues this year and getting certain things shipped on time so when it comes to ordering that one big gift for someone you love check out Billiards plus and get there early this year pick something out and get the exact thing you're looking for the gift giving season is anytime you want it to be in Billiards plus has the gifts your loved ones Will loves Billiards plus carries the best pool tables from Brunswick or Hassan Canada Billiards and more plus top of the line grills from PK Napoleon Memphis and The Griddle that will be the last girl you own seriously these grills stand the test of time no matter the season players plus had you covered for all your indoor and outdoor entertainment needs visit their Showroom on Dublin Center Drive in Dublin check them out at Billiards Dash plus.com Billiards plus and we own and operated for Generations thank you once again for making lots on both guys your first listen every single day coming up tomorrow I have a conversation that I had with Alex Clancy the host of locked on Cardinals the Arizona Cardinals the Tina selected Perry Johnson Jr number six overall in the NFL draft we had a conversation it'll air on tomorrow's show so if you want to get a crossover and you want to hear about how Paris Johnson Jr will impact the Arizona Cardinals listen to tomorrow's show you don't want to miss it so there are always players starters from the previous season who were not the biggest leaders at times or were not asked to be as big of leaders as they might need to be in the upcoming season they stay they stick around they play a little bit Yeah they could have gone to the NFL but they said no I want to stay at the school that I met to be a better football player and it better develop myself for life after I played the College Football Donovan Jackson Matthew Jones Two Guys one's your left guard one's Your Right Guard both of them will start both of them will be phenomenal football players for the buck guys and I talked about the all for the line earlier specifically leading up to this point in the show at left tackle you got Joshua fryer I don't think Joshua fryer will be the starting left tackle but he was there in the spring game Carson hinsman starting center at the Sprint game will it be Jacob James or Vic Cutler well Jake one of them was one of the individuals was hurt in Spring practice and didn't participate so henchman was a guy are we sold on henchman right now probably not that right tackle right tackle and will Josh Simmons boo to left tackle you kind of get the gist of things going on with the offensive line it's not set in stone things aren't set in stone they're still working they're still grinding they're still trying to figure this thing out and while doing so it leaves players like Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones to be leaders maybe they don't want to be the kind of leader that's going to be asked of them maybe it's what's best for the team but don't select their personal desires are they're going to need to be leaders for the Buckeyes Maybe in word and mouth but also in action maybe you're not a vocal leader maybe you lead by example and just doing things maybe you maybe you lead more by vocally and getting on guys or trying to hike them up whatever it is the Buckeyes are going to need the two starting guards from a year ago to be big leaders for them in 2023 because he offered a lot of the offense offense has still ask questions people trying to say oh Ohio State's offense is going to be this in 2023 or that in 2023 well the questions I have have not sold me or the answers I have have not shown me that the Buckeyes offense is going to be X Y or z i i I'm still up in the air but I know what the offense possibly can be I just don't know what it will be in the upcoming season what I know needs to happen and what can happen so the offensive line will be good will be elite these two individuals stepping up in a huge Monumental way for the Buckeyes to be elite at every position on the off of the line now you're gonna need those guys to be leaders and if they are leaders there's a better chance of them being Elite not sure if it's going to actually happen because I don't know what's going to happen at left tackle Center or right tackle I don't know how the three new uh starting off of the lineman I want to impact the play and development of Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones I have no idea but I do know the guys that are new coming to the online they're gonna need those vets to be leaders sometimes vocal sometimes in action sometimes to get on them sometimes to Hype them up whatever it is they're going to need it especially during crucial moments in the season especially earlier in the season hey buddy you got this I know you I know you whipped in that block hey here's how you can fix that hey footwork good job buddy keep going doing those types of things to keep the offensive line being where it needs to be at the Ohio State University we're out of here on a Thursday one more show to go this week excited to get back here behind the mic with you to talk about your favorite team in college football the Ohio State Buckeyes as always you can follow me on Twitter at j707 you can send all of your emails to jstevens317 at gmail.com out of here on a Thursday hope you guys have a great day the weather's going to warm up get outside enjoy it we've been waiting for this time of year this time for a long period of time consistently beautiful weather I like it I love it I want some more of it I am Jay Steven this is lots of the Buckeyes on a Thursday I'll see you next time