Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley arrested following alleged police chase

AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - Auburn head football coach Bryan Harsin addressed the media Thursday for what should have been solely about updates on his players as they return for fall camp, but he also had to address the arrest of one of his quarterbacks.

Tyler Jamal “T.J.” Finley, 20, was taken into custody Thursday and charged with attempting to elude officers with the Auburn Police Department. The charge is a misdemeanor and Finley has already been released from the Lee County Detention Facility on $3,000 bail..

Auburn police say the arrest stems from an incident on July 26 in which he’s accused of fleeing officers. Police say Finley was riding a motorcycle, without a helmet, when officers tried to pull him over on two separate occasions near the area of Heisman Drive and South Donahue Drive. Officers said Finley “fled from police and committed several other traffic offenses in the process.”

Police say they stopped pursuing him on both occasions as a “matter of safety”

An arrest warrant was obtained against Finley, who turned himself in Thursday. He was also issued traffic citations.

“We are aware of what’s going on,” Harsin said, echoing a statement earlier by the athletics department that it was “aware of the situation” but with little in the way of details.

Harsin confirmed Finley was on campus and that he’ll be there Thursday night with practice planned for Friday.

The law firm representing Finley, Whittelsey & Corley LLC, released a statement saying, “The charges pending against my client, T.J. Finley, are the result of traffic violations and a misunderstanding. The charges are in the process of being handled in Municipal Court within the City of Auburn as all traffic citations are. As soon as T.J. learned of the charges, he turned himself in and has been released on a bond that he signed for himself. His first day of football camp with Auburn University has been a success.”

Finley, a native of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, transferred from LSU to the Plains in 2021 and got playing time behind starting QB Bo Nix throughout the season. He played in nine games and completed 70 of 128 passes for 827 yards, with six touchdowns and one interception.

Following Nix’s departure, Finley has been competing with several other players to be named the Tigers’ starting QB for the upcoming season.

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