South Alabama · W 35-20
2 catches, 15 yards
The other 7 games average 66 yards. This one was 51 below.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Share of the team's total this season.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 10, middle 14, right 16.
Eli Finley
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. Fourth year in the Louisiana Tech receiving corps. That makes two straight seasons on the honors list: All-Conference USA again in 2025. A game that shows it: 128 receiving yards and 10 receptions against Old Dominion — Week 8, 2026.
477 receiving yards · 41 catches · 5 receiving TD
Play style
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Eli Finley at Baylor.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Louisiana Tech | 41 | 477 | 11.6 | 5 | 29 |
| 2025 | Louisiana Tech | 38 | 445 | 11.7 | 0 | 73 |
| 2024 | Louisiana Tech | 25 | 314 | 12.6 | 2 | 53 |
| 2023 | Louisiana Tech | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Career | 106 | 1,246 | 11.8 | 7 | 73 |
Last game (Wk 9): 15 receiving yards, 2 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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@ No. 8 LSU | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | L 19-36@ Baylor | 8 | 65 | 8.1 | 1 | 21 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-29vs Army | 4 | 79 | 19.8 | 0 | 25 | |
| Wk 6 | W 32-31vs Louisiana | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 2 | 23 | 2 TD catches |
| Wk 7 | W 24-0@ UL Monroe | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 8 | W 26-0vs Old Dominion | 10 | 128 | 12.8 | 1 | 25 | Season-high 128 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 35-20@ South Alabama | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 8 | |
| Total | 41 | 477 | 11.6 | 5 | 29 |
Oct. 31 · W 35-20 at South Alabama, play by play
2 catches for 15 yards. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 5 of its 17 passes.
Incomplete on 3rd and 6. Second quarter, up 21-20.
8-yard catch. Third quarter, up 28-20.
Incomplete on 4th and 5. Fourth quarter, up 35-20. Turnover on downs.
A big game: 10 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, his most this season. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 10 of its 35 passes. He was 3 of 3 on third and fourth down.
25-yard catch on 3rd and 12. Third quarter, up 17-0. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
2 catches for 9 yards. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 3 of its 23 passes. All of it came before halftime of a 24-0 win.
Incomplete on 3rd and 12. First quarter, tied 0-0.
5-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
A big game: 9 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 9 of its 43 passes.
19-yard catch on 3rd and 3. Second quarter, down 10-7. Converted.
23-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 31-26.
7-yard touchdown on 3rd and 3. Fourth quarter, made it 32-31.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 catches for 79 yards. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 6 of its 24 passes. 60 of the 79 came before halftime.
25-yard catch on 3rd and 11. Second quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
Incomplete on 3rd and 6. Fourth quarter, up 28-22. Broken up by Army’s E. Walton.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
8 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 13 of its 44 passes. Louisiana Tech’s last two throws to him, down 36-19 in the fourth quarter, fell incomplete.
21-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 29-13.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
2 catches for 15 yards. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 3 of its 23 passes.
11-yard catch on 3rd and 5. First quarter, down 10-0. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Louisiana Tech threw to him on 6 of its 21 passes. All of it came before halftime of a 80-6 win.
29-yard catch. First quarter, up 21-3.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 6 · 2026
W 32-31
vs Louisiana
9 rec · 114 yds · 2 TD
Edged out Louisiana at home in a shootout.
With B. Baker — 319 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.9 · 35 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD · L. Matthews — 49.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
83rd in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
5524% of team targetsCatch rate
75%41 of 55 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
75% catch rate on 55 targets · 24% of the team's targets.
4 seasons under Sonny Cumbie — 22-24 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 6.8 | 93.2 | 14.6 | 1.0 |
| Road4g | 3.5 | 26.0 | 6.9 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.8 | 55.7 | 10.9 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 6.0 | 71.5 | 10.2 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sonny Cumbie
Pass share
44.8%
232 pass / 286 run
Plays / game
64.8
8 games
Team sack rate
7.7%
259 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
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
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%). It was measured on players who stayed in the same conference and is not adjusted for the move to the Sun Belt.
The No. 1,374 recruit in the country is starting at tight end in the Sun Belt as a senior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 33 games over four seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 2ND TEAM
All-Conference USA 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Sonny Cumbie.
