Cullen Finnerty
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
| No. 8 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | August 18, 1982 Brighton, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died: | May 27, 2013 (aged 30)[1] Lake County, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Brighton |
| College: | Grand Valley State |
| Undrafted: | 2007 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career NFL statistics | |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Cullen Finnerty (August 18, 1982 – May 27, 2013) was an
Finnerty led the Grand Valley football team to NCAA Division II Football Championships in 2003, 2005, and 2006.
Finnerty was found dead on May 28, 2013, in Lake County, Michigan.[1]
Early years
Finnerty was born in
High school accolades
- Livingston County Player of the Year (Senior year)
- Ann Arbor News All-Area First-team
- Ann Arbor News Player of the Year (Junior year)
- Honorable mention all-state
- All-area, all-league and all-county (Junior year)
College career
Toledo
In 2001, Cullen Finnerty redshirted his true freshman year at the University of Toledo.
Grand Valley State
Finnerty transferred to Grand Valley State University in 2002, but he did not play that season. In 2003, he joined the Grand Valley Football team for his first year of eligibility as a freshman.
Freshman season
Finnerty was awarded 2003
Sophomore season
In his sophomore year, Finnerty started all 11 games at quarterback. He completed 192-of-333 passes for 2,462 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 189.4 yards passing per game. He rushed for 458 yards and five touchdowns on 139 carries. Finnerty tallied 224.6 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) per game. He was ranked 26th in the nation in passing efficiency (138.5), and 42nd in NCAA Division II in total offense per game at 225.4. He was fourth in the GLIAC in both passing yards (189.4) and total offense (225.4) per game. [3]
Junior season
With GVSU winning the NCAA Division II National Championship, as a junior Finnerty was named the 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, and First-team All-GLIAC Quarterback. Finnerty was given Honorable Mention on Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American Team. Finnerty completed 157-of-273 passes for 2,459 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 523 yards and nine touchdowns himself on the season. In the National Championship match versus Northwest Missouri State University, Finnerty completed 12-of-19 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, while rushing himself for 59 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the win. [4]
Through his first 3 seasons, Finnerty recorded a 36–4 record as a starting QB, and produced a 9–1 NCAA Div. II playoff record. He achieved 9,488 offensive yards and 92 career touchdowns, passing for 7,685 yards and 69 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,803 yards and 23 touchdowns. Finnerty ranked second in career total offense at GVSU with 9,488 yards, and third in career passing yards with 7,685 yards, and all with another season yet to play.
Senior season
As a senior quarterback, Finnerty became the winningest quarterback in
Awards and honors
- 51–4 career record as a starting quarterback—the winningest quarterback in college football history, regardless of NCAA Division [3]
- 2003 GLIAC Freshman of the Year [4]
- 2003 GVSU Rookie of the Year
- GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2003(2 times)
- D2Football.com Player of the Week 2003 [5]
- 2005 GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year [6]
- GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week 2006 (2 times)
- 2006 GLIAC Player of the Year [7]
- 2006 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches' All-America Team [8]
- 2006 Daktronics First-team All American [9]
- Finalist, 2006 Harlon Hill Trophy – 2nd place [10]
- D2Football.com Player of the Decade (2000–2009) [11]
Professional career
Baltimore Ravens
After going undrafted in the
Finnerty was re-signed to the practice squad during the season, and was promoted to the active roster for the final two games of the season after an injury to Kyle Boller.
An exclusive-rights free agent in the 2008 offseason, Finnerty was not tendered a contract by the Ravens.
Denver Broncos
On March 27, 2008, Finnerty was signed by the Denver Broncos.
On June 13, 2008, Finnerty was placed on waivers by the Broncos.
Cineplexx Blue Devils
In October 2008, Finnerty joined the Cineplexx Blue Devils of Austria. The Blue Devils play in the Austrian Football League second highest level currently.
Finnerty led the team to win the Bodensee Cup tournament. He threw three touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown, and kicked a 26-yard field goal in a 31–13 win over the Swiss national team in the Bodensee Cup title game.
Finnerty was named MVP of the tournament.
Muskegon Thunder
Finnerty was the starting quarterback of the Muskegon Thunder of the CIFL. In 2009 in two games, he had 123 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns to go along with a completion percentage of 46.9 for the 2009 Indoor Football League season.[12]
Personal life
Cullen Finnerty's parents Tim and Maureen Finnerty live in Brighton, Michigan. Cullen and his wife Jennifer lived in Michigan with their two small children.
Disappearance and death
On May 26, 2013, Finnerty was reported missing after he went fishing on the Baldwin River in Michigan.[13][14]
On the evening of May 28, Finnerty was found dead in the woods by local search crews one mile from his fishing boat in Lake County, Michigan. His body had no signs of trauma and was dressed for the elements. An autopsy, released in August 2013, showed Finnerty died of pneumonia brought on by inhalation of vomit after he became disoriented.[15] It was possibly because of oxycodone combined with having CTE.[15][failed verification] Finnerty was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[16][17]
The New York Times ran an article about his life and death in June 2013.[18]
See also
- List of solved missing persons cases
References
- ^ a b "Body of ex-Grand Valley State QB Cullen Finnerty found". USA Today. May 28, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "Football - Grand Valley State - Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
- ^ "2015 GVSU Hall of Fame Inductee: Cullen Finnerty". GVSULakers.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "GLIAC" (PDF). PrestoSports.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Cullen Finnerty, Grand Valley State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "GLIAC" (PDF). PrestoSports.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ http://www.gliac.org/sports/fball/2006-07/news/FB_all-gliac_rel_06.pd[permanent dead link]
- ^ 06afcaallamericans.pdf
- ^ "CIAA puts six on Daktronics All-American Football Team". TheCIAA.com. December 12, 2006. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "All-Decade Team 2000–2009". D2Football.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "2009 Muskegon Thunder Statistics". qkstats.net. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Matt. "Former D-II National Champion QB Cullen Finnerty's Body Found After 2-Day Search". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ search_for_cullen_finnerty_cou.html
- ^ a b "Family Members of Ex-College Football Players File Wrongful Death Lawsuits vs. NCAA". Sport Illustrated. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 15, 2019.