Houston-area quarterback Malik Hornsby and Louisiana product TJ Finley are neck-and-neck in the latest update of the 2020 Rivals rankings. At this early stage in the evaluation process, there is still plenty of debate as to which is the more promising prospect and who will ultimately finish higher.
As far as the rankings go, the two won’t square-off in the same position – Hornsby is a dual-threat quarterback while Finley is a pro-style quarterback – but in the overall rankings it will be a dogfight. Finley has rare size for a prospect of his age and is going to be the sort of drop back passer who stands tall in the pocket that LSU is always in search of. Hornsby has every bit the arm that Finley does – if not stronger, but tightening up his delivery and getting some better control of his throws has been something that he’s had to work on coming out of this past spring.
MORE RIVAL VIEWS: How big of an upside does Nebraska commit Nick Henrich have? | Which team is hottest on the recruiting trail?
SIMMONS' VIEW: FINLEY
TJ Finley has been a name people in Louisiana have talked about for a couple of years now, but he has become a regional name, maybe even a national name in recent months. It is really starting to come together for 6-foot-7 signal caller out of the Boot State. He has a big arm, he can make any throw and he has started to throw with accuracy and better touch.
The LSU commit also can move in the pocket. He is not a statue, he can buy time and when you combine that with his arm strength, it is scary. The Tigers have had a hard time finding a quarterback who can win games for them, but Finely could be that guy in the future. He has taken off in recent months and will have a lot of eyes on him this fall.
KRUEGER'S VIEW: HORNSBY
After seeing both quarterbacks a number of times this offseason, the ceiling is probably higher with Malik Hornsby, if for no other reason than he will likely be the more dynamic player. I have seen TJ Finley miss on some passes with too little arm strength and I have seen Hornsby miss on them with too much. Finley needs to continue improving his anticipation of coverages, and Hornsby can benefit from continuing to tighten up his delivery.
I’m excited to see what happens going forward between these two. The difference between them is that Hornsby is a guy that I know has more of himself to show as a prospect, while it’s pretty clear what kind of player Finley is, it’s just a matter of how much better he can get at what he already does well.
