Western Kentucky quarterback TJ Finley has been named to the Walter Camp 2024 Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced on Monday.

The list includes 50 players to watch for the award, which is the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. Of the 50, 41 are offensive players, with 20 of those being quarterbacks. There are players from 39 different schools on the list, with two from Conference USA, including Finley.

Finley is entering his first season at WKU after stops at Texas State, Auburn and LSU. He spent last season with the Bobcats and received All-Sun Belt Conference Honorable Mention, Phil Steele All-Sun Belt Fourth Team, Manning Award Watch List and Davey O’Brien Award Midseason Watch List recognitions. He was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after leading Texas State to a victory at Baylor in Week 1, he was a two-time Manning Award Star of the Week and a Davey O’Brien Great 8 selection during the 2023 season as well.

He finished the 2023 season throwing for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns to just eight interceptions on 279-of-414 passing while starting all 13 games. He also rushed for 81 yards and five touchdowns. Finley set the Texas State program record for passing yards in a season, finished 17th in the country in passing yards, ranked 23rd in the nation in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns, ranked 16th in the country in completion percentage, and was 23rd in passing efficiency. He helped the Bobcats have the 15th-best offense in the country (457.6 yards per game) and the 28th-best passing offense (270.9 yards per game). He led Texas State to its first-ever win over a Power Five team with the victory against Baylor and to the program’s first bowl win with a 45-21 win over Rice in the First Responder Bowl.

Over his three seasons with LSU (2020) and Auburn (2021-22), he started 11 games and appeared in 18. He threw for 2,199 yards and 12 touchdowns to 10 interceptions on 183-of-321 passing and also recorded a pair of rushing touchdowns. He started three games as a sophomore at Auburn in 2022 and appeared in four games, but missed several due to injury. He played in nine games with three starts as a freshman in 2021. In his first college season at LSU in 2020, he started five games and led the Tigers to victories over South Carolina and Arkansas.

Finley has already been included on the Shrine Bowl 1000 Watchlist and the watch list for the Maxwell Award this summer.

The Walter Camp 2024 Player of Year watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November and three finalists will be announced Nov. 26. The 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 133 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on Dec. 12. Appearing on the preseason Watch List is not a requirement for a player to win the Walter Camp Award or be named to the All-America team.

WKU is scheduled to kick off the 2024 season with a 6 p.m. CT game at Alabama on Aug. 31. The Hilltoppers will host Eastern Kentucky for their home opener on Sept. 7, at 6 p.m., and will open CUSA play the following week with a 6 p.m. CT game at Middle Tennessee on Sept. 14.