NC State quarterback Ryan Finley undecided about entering the NFL draft

It’s possible N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley could be a high draft pick if he enters the 2018 NFL Draft and gives up his final year of college eligibility.

But Finley, in an interview Tuesday, said he had made no decision on the NFL. That, he said, would wait until after the Wolfpack’s Sun Bowl game against Arizona State on Dec. 29.

“I will make it after I spend some time with my family after the bowl game,” Finley said. “We’ll sit down and talk and just weigh my options.

“I’m excited about the opportunity either way, to leave for the NFL or to come back. To finish my senior year, I heard somebody say it’s a champagne problem. So I’m excited about the opportunity I have.”

Ryan has good size at 6-3 and 210 pounds, is an accurate thrower and is mobile enough to be a running threat. In the Pack’s 8-4 season, he passed for 3,200 yards and 16 touchdowns, completing 64 percent of his passes.

What he wants now is a ninth victory for the seniors to close out a season he said had its highs and lows but was rewarding.

“I think making a bowl game is the most important thing, just to get those extra practices for guys’ development,” he said. “Obviously you want to finish what you started on a high note, and that’s with a win in El Paso. We’re excited about going down there, and our No. 1 goal is to get the win.”

Finley said the Pack’s 41-17 Independence Bowl win over Vanderbilt a year ago was a “lot of fun” and recalled the Pack “was able to focus when we needed to.”

“I think that was a big maturing process for our team,” he said. “Going into the offseason, it was a lot better feeling having won the game.”

Finley, who grew up in Phoenix, will be facing the Pac-12 school that’s in his backyard and one that showed recruiting interest when he was playing at Paradise Valley High. Playing in El Paso, 430 miles from Phoenix, also will enable his family to drive to the game.

Finley was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in August 2016, after transferring to N.C. State from Boise State. He missed 10 games in the 2015 season at Boise State with an ankle injury and all of his freshman season in 2014 with a shoulder injury.

A graduate of Boise State, Finley has been taking graduate courses at NCSU.

Finley said he grew up a “dedicated” Arizona Cardinals fan and said his father has been a season-ticket holder for more than 20 years. He said he once idolized Peyton Manning, but that New England’s Tom Brady is the quarterback he most tries to emulate.

“He’s the guy I look up to for a lot of different reasons,” Finley said.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "NC State quarterback Ryan Finley undecided about entering the NFL draft."