Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-27vs Boise State | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 31-39@ Oklahoma State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#4
Brandon Finney Jr.
Brandon Finney picked off three passes and won the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP -- as a true freshman. At 6-2 with length to spare, he's the breakout sophomore corner most likely to make first-team All-America.
6′2″ · 203 lb · Owings Mills, MD · McDonogh School
CFB Index 85 · #25 of 364 cornersLow confidenceNational watchReturning to Oregon for 2026
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.
On production he ranks #25 of 364 corners; on reputation he is on a national watch list. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
Recruiting
4★
CB recruit
No. 40 nationally · Signed with Oregon
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Brandon Finney picked off three passes and won the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP -- as a true freshman. At 6-2 with length to spare, he's the breakout sophomore corner most likely to make first-team All-America.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Oregon in 2025.
- Named Preseason All-America in 2026.
Buzz vs Tape
Fans warmer than rivals
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
27.9own fans
-70rival fans
Also worth knowing:
The story
Finney's true-freshman season was a star's opening act: three interceptions (including a pick-six against Indiana), a Freshman All-America nod, second-team All-Big Ten honors, and the Orange Bowl Defensive MVP -- a long, physical press corner who looked the part on the biggest stage. At 6-2, 203, Bleacher Report ranked him the No. 1 sophomore corner in the country, and his head coach has praised his ability to break on the ball in man coverage. The forward stakes are a leap into the elite: a corner with this length and this much production this early is the kind who climbs into first-team All-America and Jim Thorpe Award conversations. For Oregon, he's a foundational piece of the secondary for years.
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Finney is a long, press-man cover corner -- 6-2, 203 with the build to jam receivers at the line and the recovery length to carry them downfield. The freshman production (three interceptions, a bowl MVP) shows the ball skills and the confidence to play on top of routes, and his coach specifically credits his ability to break on the ball in man coverage. He plays bigger than most corners, using his frame to contest at the catch point. The profile is a press boundary corner with rare size and early ball production -- exactly the modern lockdown archetype. The technique will only sharpen with reps, and the ceiling from here is one of the best corners in the sport.
Written by our staff.
202514 games
- Signed with Oregon4-star out of McDonogh School
- All-Big Tensecond
2026
- Preseason All-AmericaSecond Team
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Oregon
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
All-America honors (2026)
1 mentions across the selector pool
🎖
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
Badges
- Honors Badge
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Dan Lanning — 14-3 over that span.
2025Oregon13-2HC: Dan Lanning · Run-leaning
2026Oregon1-1HC: Dan Lanning · Balanced, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Low confidence
Concern: tackles for loss (20th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 6.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dan Lanning
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
National watch / fringe AA
In the All-America conversation, short of a selector's first team.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #4 of 77 Big Ten DBs
How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. 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.
Selector Grid · 2026
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 34–27
vs Boise State
8 TOT · 3 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
With D. Moore — 378 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · -5 rush yds (2 car) · B. Ettridge — 48 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 52 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Finney is a long, press-man cover corner -- 6-2, 203 with the build to jam receivers at the line and the recovery length to carry them downfield. The freshman production (three interceptions, a bowl MVP) shows the ball skills and the confidence to play on top of routes, and his coach specifically credits his ability to break on the ball in man coverage. He plays bigger than most corners, using his frame to contest at the catch point. The profile is a press boundary corner with rare size and early ball production -- exactly the modern lockdown archetype. The technique will only sharpen with reps, and the ceiling from here is one of the best corners in the sport.
Our classifier reads him the same way: hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
2026 Outlook
Oregon
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Oregon
Returning around him
- 7 Oregon players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -18 net (13 in / 31 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Oregon · Last season: 13-2 (AP #5) · Talent rank #3 · 2026 recruiting class #3
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Chris Peal’s 2025 season.
75%match
Matches Chris on
PD rate
Weight
TFL rate
Differs from Chris on
Class year (lower)
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to E'zaiah Shine's freshman season at Tulane (2025).
72%match
Matches E'zaiah on
TFL rate
Tackle volume
Weight
Background
As A Sophomore (2026) » Walter Camp Preseason All-America first team » Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list As A Freshman (2025) » FWAA Freshman All-America » All-Big Ten second team (coaches, AP) » All-Big Ten third team (media) » Capital One Orange Bowl Defensive MVP » Shaun Alexander Freshman of...
The secondary · Oregon
- #3Koi Perich82 tackles · 2025
- #21Aaron Flowers69 tackles · 2025
- #4Brandon Finney Jr.42 tackles · 2025
- #7Ify Obidegwu25 tackles · 2025
- #12Peyton Woodyard22 tackles · 2025
20 more on the roster · Oregon team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology