Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 80-6vs Northwestern State | 4 | 52 | 13.0 | 1 | 29 | |
| Wk 2 | L 14-45@ LSU | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | L 19-36@ Baylor | 8 | 65 | 8.1 | 1 | 21 | Season-high 65 yds |
| Total | 14 | 132 | 9.5 | 2 | 29 |
#84
Eli Finley
Senior tight end for Louisiana Tech. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
6′6″ · 246 lb · Heath, TX · Rockwall-Heath HS
CFB Index 63 · #28 of 156 TEsMedium-low confidence
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.
TD rate: 50th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
132
receiving yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 8 rec, 65 yds, 1 TD, at Baylor
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior tight end for Louisiana Tech. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Louisiana Tech in 2023.
Eli Finley
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. Fourth year in the Louisiana Tech receiving corps, same address the whole way. Two straight seasons of it now: All-Conference USA again in 2025. The receipt: 65 rec yds, 8 receptions against Baylor — Week 3, 2026.
132 REC YDS · 14 REC · 2 REC TD
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The week the volume broke through — put up 155 yds vs Southern Miss.Southern Miss · W 30-202025
20233 games
- Signed with Louisiana Tech3-star out of Rockwall-Heath
202411 games
The role got bigger.
- All-Conference USAhonorable_mention
202511 games
- All-Conference USAsecond
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Louisiana Tech
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 2ND TEAM
All-Conference USA 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Louisiana Tech
Played his entire career under Sonny Cumbie.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Louisiana Tech | 14 | 132 | 9.4 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | Louisiana Tech | 38 | 445 | 11.7 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | Louisiana Tech | 25 | 314 | 12.6 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Louisiana Tech | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 79 | 901 | 11.4 | 4 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Eli Finley's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 80–6
4 rec · 52 yds · 1 TD
Dominant 74-point win at home against Northwestern State.
With J. Mickens — 31 rush yds (2 car) · B. Baker — 232 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 1 rush yds (1 car)
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 2 · LSU · 3&5 · Q1 · EPA -4.02(02:43) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 B.Baker pass complete short right to #84 E.Finley caught at LAT36, for 11 yards to the LAT41 fumbled by #84 E.Finley at LAT38 forced by #6 T.Dottery recovered by LSU #0 T.Cooley at LAT41, End Of Play
- Week 1 · Northwestern State · 3&6 · Q2 · EPA +2.87Eli Finley 9 Yd pass from Blake Baker (Kaegan Kent Kick)
- Week 3 · Baylor · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +2.60(08:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Kukuk pass complete short middle to #84 E.Finley caught at BAYLOR20, for 19 yards to the BAYLOR00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:18, 1ST DOWN #2 T.Kukuk rush attempt failed
- Week 1 · Northwestern State · 2&4 · Q1 · EPA +2.56Shotgun #5 B.Baker pass complete deep right to #84 E.Finley caught at NWST45, for 29 yards to the NWST40 (#19 B.Thompson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Baylor · 3&4 · Q3 · EPA +1.75(13:26) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Kukuk pass complete short middle to #84 E.Finley caught at LATECH47, for 4 yards to the LATECH47 (#5 T.Barnes), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Baylor · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +0.89(06:32) No Huddle #2 T.Kukuk pass complete deep right to #84 E.Finley caught at BAYLOR27, for 21 yards to the BAYLOR26 (#24 M.Gifford; #41 K.Burns), 1ST DOWN, PENALTY BAYLOR Roughing The Passer (#91 T.Mitchell) 13 yards from BAYLOR26 to BAYLOR13, 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Northwestern State · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +0.60Shotgun #5 B.Baker pass complete short right to #84 E.Finley caught at NWST29, for 8 yards to the NWST27 (#14 J.Natali), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Baylor · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA -0.41(12:24) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 T.Kukuk pass complete short right to #84 E.Finley caught at LATECH49, for 3 yards to the BAYLOR48 (#21 B.Onu)
- Week 1 · Northwestern State · 1&20 · Q1 · EPA +0.25Shotgun #5 B.Baker pass complete short middle to #84 E.Finley caught at TECH46, for 6 yards to the TECH48 (#24 B.Ross; #9 D.Sears)
- Week 2 · LSU · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -0.11(13:32) No Huddle-Shotgun #5 B.Baker pass complete short left to #84 E.Finley caught at LAT22, for 4 yards to the LAT29 (#2 T.Benefield)
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +65 receiving yards, +8 catches, +1 receiving TD.
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Sonny Cumbie — 17-24 over that span.
2023Louisiana Tech3-9HC: Sonny Cumbie · Balanced
2024Louisiana Tech5-8HC: Sonny Cumbie · Run-leaning
2025Louisiana Tech8-5HC: Sonny Cumbie · Run-heavy
2026Louisiana Tech1-2HC: Sonny Cumbie · Balanced
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Medium-low confidence
Concern: epa / target (7th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / target
82nd → 7th percentile
Explosive rate
71st → 35th percentile
Catch rate
93rd → 37th percentile
TD rate
18th → 50th percentile
Yards / catch
53rd → 14th percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
14 of 14 receptions matched to play-by-play
21 of 22 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
2227% of team targetsCatch rate
64%14 of 22 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
24% of targets (5)
100%catch rate
Air -2.4 · YAC 9.8 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
52% of targets (11)
55%catch rate
Air 4.5 · YAC 2.0 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
14% of targets (3)
0%catch rate
Air 11.3 avg
Deep · 20+ air yds
10% of targets (2)
100%catch rate
Air 22.0 · YAC 3.0 avg
64% catch rate on 22 targets · 27% of the team's targets.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 4.0 | 52.0 | 13.0 | 1.0 |
| Road2g | 5.0 | 40.0 | 7.8 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.7 | 44.0 | 9.5 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sonny Cumbie
Pass share
47.6%
90 pass / 99 run
Plays / game
63.0
3 games
Team sack rate
9.6%
104 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #2 of 10 Conference USA TEs — his program moves to the Sun Belt for 2026
How the All-Sun Belt estimate is computed
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player. The base rate was measured on players who stayed in the same conference; this estimate is not adjusted for the move to the Sun Belt.
How he plays
Play style
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
The No. 1,374 recruit in the country is starting at tight end in the Sun Belt as a senior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Complete TE
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
TE
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jeremy Sprinkle’s 2016 season.
81%match
NFL Rd 5
Matches Jeremy on
Reception volume
Yards / reception
Height
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Luke Schoonmaker’s path through Michigan.
82%match
All-Big TenNFL Rd 2 · Pk 27
Matches Luke on
Height
Yards per reception
Recruiting rating
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Jamal Turner's senior season at Toledo (2021).
Matches Jamal on
Total EPA (college ability)
TD rate
Yards / reception
Background
CAREER HONORS & AWARDS All-CUSA Second Team (2025) John Mackey Award Watch List (2025) Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List (2025) Athlon Preseason First Team All-CUSA (2025) Phil Steele Preseason First Team All-CUSA (2025) All-CUSA Honorable Mention (2024) CUSA Comissioner's Honor Roll (2024,…
The tight end room · Louisiana Tech
- #84Eli Finley445 receiving yards · 2025
- #87Brayden Bockler5 receiving yards · 2025
- #80Deven Munizno box-score line yet
- #82Luke Seibno box-score line yet
- #9Josh Brantley1 game · 2026
2 more on the roster · Louisiana Tech team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology