Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense has suffered another departure with the Friday news that Texas Longhorns junior edge Justice Finkley intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
The 6’2, 250-pounder has one season of eligibility remaining.
Finkley arrived at Texas as a member of the 2022 recruiting class out of Titusville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville as a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 116 player nationally and the No. 12 edge, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. After taking official visits to the Forty Acres, Colorado, and Michigan, Finkley committed to Texas in Sept. 2021. Finkley held 30 total offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC, among others.
An early enrollee, Finkley played 162 snaps over 12 games as a true freshman in 2022, recording seven tackles (one solo) with half a tackle for loss, half a sack, and one quarterback hurry. As a sophomore, Finkley played 284 snaps over 14 games with 14 tackles (eight solo), three tackles for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble, but saw his playing time decrease to 95 snaps over six games as the Longhorns upgraded the edge position by landing former AAC Defensive Player of the Year Trey Moore from UTSA and consensus five-star prospect Colin Simmons from Duncanville. Finkley recorded three tackles in 2024.