Ben Finley to bring a familiar name, similar game to N.C. State
The last 24 hours before college football’s early signing day can be chaotic, with recruits flipping schools or making dramatic last-minute announcements.
With Ben Finley, there was no suspense or surprise, only a spoof.
On Tuesday, Finley tweeted out a photo of himself sitting at a table with a football helmet and four caps in front of him. The quarterback was scratching his head, as if wondering which he would choose on Wednesday.
All five were red and white. All five had an N.C. State logo. His tweet said he had a “Tuffy” decision to make on the signing date.
“Honestly, it was just as a joke,” Finley said Wednesday in an interview. “You’ll see some guys posting photos with all their six different hats on a table and then pick one out. I was just mocking it a little bit, so I put all the N.C. State ones. It was also for people to know I was 100 percent N.C. State and I wasn’t changing.”
Finley was the first commitment in the Wolfpack’s 2020 class, among the 17 signees Wednesday and will enroll in January. Some might label him a “legacy” player. He is the younger brother of former Pack quarterback Ryan Finley, who started for three years and was All-ACC in 2018 before being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. There are similarities in their size and the way they play the game.
But while Ryan Finley transferred to N.C. State from Boise State, Ben Finley said he was sold on the school, the football program, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren and Raleigh from his first visit a couple of years ago. He plans on being himself, competing for playing time, making his own mark with the Pack.
“We’re two different people and I’m going to create my own path,” he said. “But there’s always been that brotherly competition and I have a chance to beat him at something again.”
Ben Finley did follow his brother in playing for Paradise Valley High in Phoenix, Ariz., passing for 8,272 yards and 74 touchdowns in his four varsity seasons. A team captain as a senior, he threw for 2,119 yards and 21 TDs, and his 114.9 quarterback rating was his best in high school.
Finley had offers from such home-state schools as Arizona and Arizona State as well as Colorado State and Iowa State according to 247 Sports. He was rated a 3-star recruit by rivals.com, which also ranked him the No. 13 recruit in Arizona, and committed to the Pack in November 2018.
Ryan Finley, after transferring to N.C. State, flourished with Eliah Drinkwitz as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, forming a symbiotic football relationship. Ben Finley said he sensed Drinkwitz might not be at NCSU by the time he came out of high school, that there were no guarantees, something that Doeren firmly underscored.
“I told him ‘You can’t come here because of Eliah and you can’t come here because of Ryan. This needs to be your school,’” Doeren said Wednesday. “He committed that way.”
Drinkwitz left after the 2018 season to take the head coaching job at Appalachian State and now is the new head coach at Missouri. Kurt Roper was hired last year as the Pack’s quarterbacks coach, and Des Kitchings and George McDonald were named co-offensive coordinators.
“Actually, Coach Roper recruited me when he was at Colorado, so I knew him before he got the (NCSU) job,” Ben Finley said. “That was really cool connection there and I’m sure it will continue to grow.”
Like Ryan Finley, who was often called “Skin-ley” because of his lanky frame, Ben still has some growing to do. He’s 6-3 and listed at 190 pounds but has a lean, wiry look like his brother.
“They’re both tall, rangy guys, athletic guys,” Kitchings said Wednesday. “Ryan had athleticism and could run. Obviously we didn’t ask him to do that. Ben has the same athleticism. Smart guy. He has a really good understanding of football and the IQ and those type of things.”
Ryan Finley had shoulder surgery at Boise State that affected his arm strength and needed a rebuild. Kitchings said Ben Finley has a little better velocity on his throws and Ben didn’t disagree, saying if he couldn’t fling it he probably wouldn’t have been signed.
There was one other difference, Kitchings said, smiling.
“The younger Finley probably has a little more personality, being around him,” he said. “That’s the immediate first impression.”
Ryan Finley could be quiet, introspective, aloof, especially around the media. Ben Finley is said to be more outgoing and talkative, perhaps more playful given that pick-a-hat tweet.
Both brothers are super competitive. Their parents, father Pat and mother Robin, were college athletes. Ben played on Paradise Valley tennis teams that he said were back-to-back section champions but noted his mom still beats him regularly in tennis, jokingly calling it “very annoying.”
There’s one other thing that annoys Ben Finley.
“When I get called Ryan’s little brother,” he said. “That’s when the competitive juices start flowing.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 11:56 AM.
