Finnerty finds better path
Tom Finnerty is taking the last seven credits he needs for his communications degree at Eastern Washington University.
After football season he’ll do an internship, but with all that education there are still some things he doesn’t know.
“I had a stretch of years through junior high, that I kind of phased out my freshman year, that I was just a huge troublemaker,” the 2000 Mead High graduate said. “I don’t know why and when I look back I don’t even understand my thought process. I think I was crazy. I don’t know, I just really didn’t care.”
That’s a far cry from a season that earned Big Sky Conference honorable mention recognition and prompted Eagles coach Paul Wulff to say, “When he plays at the top of his game, he’s one of the best defensive ends in this league. At times last year he was unstoppable.”
It wasn’t too many years ago when Finnerty appeared to be content to stop himself.
Although he played sports, it wasn’t until he connected with the Mead football staff, particularly head coach and counselor Bob McCray, that he pulled out of his self-described “funk.”
“It took him a while, but by the time he was a senior he knew what it was all about,” McCray said. “He showed up to practice early and stayed late and got the job done in the classroom. He was the best in the Greater Spokane League. He didn’t get the defensive player in the league that year, but he should have.
“The only guy I can compare him with is Cory Solomen, Cory Withrow (a Mead player who went to Washington State and changed his name). He’s the only other kid I’ve ever seen on this practice field out here who brought it every day on every play. He was a great leader on and off the field.”
“I was about a junior when Coach McCray said he thought I could go to college,” Finnerty said. “Once I heard those words, it kind of drove me. That was the direction I decided I wanted to take.”
The direction included a detour to junior college to make grades.
It ended up being Yuba College in Marysville, Calif., coached by Ted Hoal, a former GSL assistant coach who has helped a lot of players from this area.
“Ted’s a taskmaster and a disciplinarian,” McCray said. “For Tommy, that was a great situation.”
Finnerty ended up as an all-league defensive end and Eastern came calling.
“We thought he was good enough out of high school, but we knew his grades weren’t good enough … but we did keep tabs,” Wulff said. “It really wasn’t a hard decision for us to bring him back home and give him an opportunity to play. It crossed our minds he was coming back where he didn’t do too well academically early in his high school career. He got his AA degree pretty handily so he could do well, and talking to him, it was obvious he could do well. … Since he’s been here he’s been outstanding.”
But his trials weren’t over.
He redshirted with an injury, which gave him time to push his weight to 250 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame. Then after starting 11 games last year, another injury sidelined him through spring practice and limited his off-season conditioning. He wasn’t really ready when practice started in August and he’s just now getting up to speed.
“Considering what he’s had to go through,” Wulff said, “he’s playing very well.”
Finnerty disagreed, which pleased his position coach, Malik Roberson.
“He’s doing fine. He stepped it up along with the other senior defensive lineman,” Roberson said. “As a group we’re not just going to focus on the score or on the won-loss record, but we’re trying to focus on the way we’re playing. His mental toughness is a great strength of his. That’s an important characteristic to have to be successful. He’s overcome a lot of obstacles to be successful on the field.”
Finnerty’s take: “I’m playing all right. I wish I could play a little better. I’m still not quite up to what my and my coach’s expectations are. My expectations are to be the best. I want to be the best out there. The D-line as a whole, we expect a lot out of ourselves … so we’re never really satisfied. It’s a continual progress. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse.”
Finnerty had 44 tackles last year, including six for losses and four sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown against Northern Arizona, this week’s opponent in a critical game at Woodward Field.
“It’s been a long road,” he said. “Looking back at that point in time, I never thought I’d end up here. I wouldn’t say I appreciate it any more than the next guy, because he had to work just as hard to get here. I definitely know the difference between failure and success. … I like to succeed more than I like to fail, so I’m going to try to keep on that path.”
McCray believes he will.
“I’m thrilled he’s making it in the classroom. That’s a testament to where Tommy is at,” he said. “(On-field success) doesn’t surprise me. He’s got that motor, the same motor he had here. He plays as hard in the fourth quarter as he plays in the first quarter … He’s an excitable guy. He brings energy into that defensive huddle. And he can run.
“I mean, he is one tough kid. Tommy Finnerty was a guy on the north side of Spokane you didn’t want to mess with.”