Finke Cherished Senior Day Moments But Focused On Syracuse
Notre Dame receiver Chris Finke entered the season with 16 career catches and has taken a more significant role in stride.
The former walk-on has recorded 36 receptions for 442 yards and one touchdown on the year but has also provided stable leadership in the receiver room along with classmate Miles Boykin.
As the Irish sit at 10-0, it’s a somewhat familiar place for Boykin and Finke, and they want to make sure they finish the last two games of the season strong.
“We have to make sure we go hard Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when we’re at practice,” stated Finke. “We have to cut out all distractions. We need to make sure we’re spending our free time spending time doing things productive towards our goal whether it’s watching film or getting extra treatment.”
The receivers dealt with growing pains early, and as they head into Saturday’s game against No. 12 Syracuse, they will be dealing with another quarterback change.
Ian Book took over for Brandon Wimbush in week four but was sidelined last week by an injury, which forced Wimbush back into the QB1 role. This week, Book is expected to start, and Finke has seen positive progress from the junior quarterback.
“He looks just fine like he’s been,” Finke said of Book. “When he injured, you noticed it by the way he walked but it’s opening up now, and it’s back to normal.”
Finke doesn’t have a preference on who plays quarterback as both have proven the ability to win big games and be productive.
“There are different things about both of them,” explained Finke. “It’s a different style of play. Brandon did a hell of a job on Senior Night. I was so happy for him to get that special moment. Ian is back and doing what he’s been doing.
“They both bring a lot to the table. We’re lucky to have two guys on our team who can be trusted.”
While it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, Finke was glad to see his roommate have a good moment after the disappointment of losing his starting job.
Finke and his other roommates made sure to get Wimbush to the front of the team to sing their final alma mater together.
“I was next to Jimmy Thompson and Brian Ball,” recalled Finke. “Those are my roommates with Brandon, and we wanted to make sure we were all together for our last alma mater at home. We wanted to spend that moment together, especially after Brandon’s performance.”
Wimbush’s situation has been well documented, but there few closer to Wimbush than Finke, who said his roommate never even privately expressed disappointment.
“It’s says everything,” said Finke. “He’s a tremendous guy. Most people put in his situation wouldn’t have nearly as good of an attitude as he did. I didn’t hear him complain once, even when we were home just talking. He just understands how to be a good guy.
“He’s just a really good guy. He’s team first and not selfish.”