Texas EDGE Justice Finkley intends to enter transfer portal

Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, junior Texas football edge rusher Justice Finkley plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 13.

Texas football loses another EDGE to the portal in junior Justice Finkley in the winter transfer window

Finkley played three seasons at Texas, making 32 appearances since the 2022 season. He registered 26 career combined tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures, two QB hits, 10 defensive stops, and one forced fumble.

During his true freshman campaign in 2022, Finkley saw the field in a dozen games for the Longhorns. He picked up seven tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and four defensive stops as a freshman. Finkley had his first career game with multiple total tackles and a sack in Texas's win in the Red River Rivalry game in 2022 over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Finkley's most productive season at Texas was in 2023. He posted 14 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, 11 quarterback pressures, and six defensive stops. Finkley played all 14 games for the Longhorns during the 2023 season as a sophomore.

Texas's added depth at the EDGE position caused Finkley's snap count on defense decrease significantly this fall for the Longhorns. After taking a career-high 284 defensive snaps in 2023 (per PFF), Finkley had a career-low 95 defensive snaps over six games in the 2024 regular season. And he only appeared in one game in the second half of the regular season for the Longhorns.

Finkley was a high-four-star recruit who signed with the Longhorns in the 2022 class. From Hewitt Trussville High School in Trussville, AL, Finkley was one of the top-five-ranked defensive signees for the Longhorns in the 2022 recruiting class in the 247Sports Composite.

He ranked as the No. 116 prospect nationally in the 2022 class in the 247Sports Composite, No. 12 edge rusher, and No. 6 from Alabama.

Finkley has one year of eligibility remaining.

He is the eighth Longhorns player to announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal as part of this transfer cycle in the winter window.

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