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University of Illinois Athletics

2026 Football Roster

James Finley

  • Position DB
  • Class Sophomore
  • Height 6-1
  • Weight 185
  • Hometown Portage, Ind.
  • High School Andrean
  • Prev School Northern Illinois
  • Instagram jamessfinleyy
  • Twitter jamessfinleyy

Biography

2025 Freshman

  • Played in 11 games with four starts at defensive back as a true freshman
  • 21 tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups on the season
  • Interceptions in back-to-back games at Ohio (10/18/25) and Ball State (10/25/25)
  • First NIU true freshman to have multiple interceptions in a season since 2020
  • Season-high six tackles against Ohio (10/18/25) and Toledo (11/5/25)
  • Season-high two pass breakups against Kent State (11/28/25)

High School 

  • Four-year letterwinner
  • Team captain and team MVP as a senior
  • Three-time All-State 
  • Two-time Indiana Preps Region Sports All-State from
  • Three-time All-Region
  • Two-time Post Tribuen All-Region 
  • Three-time All-Conference
  • 76 tackles,one blocked punt, two blocked FGs, 10 pass breakups, five interceptions, one interception return for touchdown, and one fumble recovery as a senior
  • 58 tackles, three blocked FGs, two blocked punts, one interception, and eight pass breakups as a junior
  • 70 tackles, six interceptions, two interceptions returned for touchdowns, and eight pass breakups as a sophomore
  • All-Conference basketball player 
  • Two-time All-State and Sectional champion in track and field 
  • National Honors Society

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.