The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/743343
102 ■ THE WOLFPACKER During the Pack's 49‑22 home win over Old Dominion Sept. 17, Finley thoroughly impressed ODU head coach Bobby Wilder, who entered this season with a 57‑27 re‑ cord in seven seasons as the Monarch's head coach, with his comfort level on the gridiron. "He is so accurate," Wilder commented. "I think he is a three‑, maybe four‑read guy. There are not a lot of those in college foot‑ ball. What I mean by that: he can come off his first read, get his second and third read. There were times tonight I thought he was on his second and third read, and we couldn't get to him. He is such a good decision‑maker. "I thought in the ECU game [the week before] he was really aggressive. Tonight he was a star the way he played. He looks like a next‑level guy to me. He is poised. His accuracy is impressive. That being said we have to play better on our side of the ball, but if teams can't get to him, he is going to be a 75‑percent [completion percentage] guy." The ability to see the field appears to be a natural trait for Finley. NC State first‑year offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz coached Finley a year ago at Boise State before both of them made their way to Raleigh during the offseason. Drinkwitz noted that it takes time for many quarterbacks to develop an ability to go through the receiver progressions during a play, but Finley picked it up quicker than most. The coach noticed his quarterback be‑ ing able to do that when Drinkwitz arrived at Boise State in 2014 and Finley was a redshirt freshman. "It's something that he's always been able to do," Drinkwitz noted. "That's the famil‑ iarity with the offense and understanding what we're able to do. We have a lot of full‑ field reads, and we ask the quarterback to go through them. He's been very good at doing that." Finley believes that it is an extension of his easiness with the offense. "I've been in this system for a while now and feel comfortable with it," the signal‑ caller stated. "I am experienced enough to do something like that and get it to the right person." His head coach concurred. "He knows where to go with the football," Dave Doeren observed. "He's a guy that can get himself into a rhythm pretty quickly." A Poised Leader When NC State traveled to Clemson's Me‑ morial Stadium Oct. 15, the Pack knew it was entering one of college football's most challenging environments. Earlier this fall, then‑No. 3 Louisville faced the fifth‑ranked Tigers in a prime‑ time game. The scene was electric, set up by ESPN's College GameDay taking its traveling show to Clemson for the day. On the first two offensive plays for Lou‑ isville, they were flagged for false starts. In the fourth quarter with 40 seconds left and Clemson clinging to a 42‑36 lead, the In addition to his play on the field, Finley won over his teammates with his poise and leadership in the huddle. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN "I like his composure. He's always very calm. He never gets rattled or anything like that. He's always chill, whatever is happening and in whatever situation. … He doesn't get too high or too low." ■ Junior guard Tony Adams on Finley