Finley takes unique path to stardom
N. Carolina State QB endures injuries, transfer, competition to find elite status
RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley arrived for an interview at 1:22 p.m. because that’s when he said he’d be there: at 1:22, not 1:20 or 1:25. And he brought along a teammate, center Garrett Bradbury, because “I just want to make sure that it doesn’t get to a point where it’s all about me,” he said.
That’s unusual. The strangely exact time? Not so much that — teachers have been using tricks to get students to appear on schedule for decades, and if it works for students it will work for reporters, too. It’s the other part that came as a surprise: Finley, a senior who began his career at Boise State before transferring here before the 2016 season, drafting his center into a role as chaperone for the interview.
“I wouldn’t say Ryan is an introvert, but Ryan tries hard not to make it about him,” N.C. State offensive coordinator and QBs coach Eliah Drinkwitz said.
One could say that Finley is focused: on himself, on his craft, on becoming the best quarterback he can be. That’s undoubtedly true. Yet he’s not so absorbed as to be comfortable as the center of attention. That helps to explain Bradbury’s presence.
Is he ready for what comes next? Talent-wise, there’s no doubt. After bowing out of the recent NFL draft, where he was projected to go in the second or third round, Finley is viewed as one of the top three prospects at his position in the upcoming draft class.
“I just felt like I was in such a good place in my life, where I was at mentality, and how I saw my potential and how it could get even better at the college level,” Finley said.
But even as he pushes back slightly at the rising wave of notoriety, Finley’s strongest asset doubles as the prime example of why he is unique among most of his peers: After two season-ending injuries, a rare transfer from the Group of Five to the Power Five and a pair of offseason competitions, Finley doesn’t seem fazed by the pressures of living up to expectations.
“He’s unique, man,” Doeren said. “And I think coming back is unique. He wants to be the best quarterback that he can be. I think he knew that he had more in him.”
He can be a perfectionist. Finley will get exasperated, Bradbury said. By what? Different opinions, for one. He can be impatient, Bradbury added.
Said Drinkwitz, “When someone tries to B.S. he can see it.” That could rub some coaches the wrong way. For Drinkwitz, Finley’s addiction to detail and self-improvement “makes me be a better coach because if I’m not prepared he’ll call me out on it.”
For example:
Finley wears sunglasses in bed designed to create more melatonin, providing a deeper and cleaner sleep.
He’s gone gluten-free after being diagnosed with a sensitivity. A doctor said the change will help add weight — he’s around 210 pounds now with the goal of getting between 215 and 220 by the fall. Not bad for a player nicknamed “Skinley” during his time with the Broncos.
Finley adopted transcendental meditation as a way to settle his mind on the field and off. He reads self-help books by Tim Ferriss. And Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.” He tackles books on Hinduism and philosophy. The shared theme is a constant search for improvement.
It didn’t just happen for Finley — his development came in fits and starts, stymied first by a shoulder injury as a true freshman and then by an ankle injury as a redshirt sophomore, two setbacks that effectively ended his Boise State career. He has since been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and will add two master’s degrees to his education at N.C. State.
After heading into the spring of 2016 aware that transferring “was a strong option,” Finley narrowed his list of options to North Texas and N.C. State, ultimately deciding on the latter due almost entirely in part to his relationship with Drinkwitz, who previously held the same position with the Broncos.
But there were no promises made. Internally, N.C. State coaches viewed Finley as an insurance policy. They felt good about then-sophomore Jalan McClendon, the projected starter coming out of the spring of 2016 who has since transferred to Baylor, but were worried about a solid secondary option.
Winning the job in August 2016 was hard enough; winning over his new teammates, many of whom were partial to their returning contributor over the graduate transfer, was an even more difficult task.
He was solid as a first-year starter in
2016, with over 3,000 yards passing and a completion percentage a shade over
60 percent. Good, but not good enough to be named the outright starter entering the ensuing offseason. Another competition followed.
A turning point came last August. During a scrimmage pitting the Wolfpack’s starting offense against the starting defense, Finley was sacked by star defensive end Bradley Chubb, who crowed and gloated. Finley got in his face, nose to nose with the team’s undisputed alpha dog. Holy cow, Drinkwitz remembered thinking.
His teammate saw it. His coaches saw it, too. This was Finley’s offense. Finley would lead N.C. State to a 6-1 start last fall and in throwing for 3,518 yards cemented his place as a contender for the first round of next spring’s draft.
“For me, it was the first year where I knew I was going to play well,” Finley said of last season.
That equation has changed. After a winding round through two injuries and two programs, potential has met production. Is there more to accomplish? Without a doubt. But the injuries, the transfers, the competitions, the diet, the books and everything else has led to this: Finley’s ready for what comes next.
“He left Boise, came to a new setting and had to reinvent and reprove himself,” Drinkwitz said. “And I think he was able to kind of find himself.”