Savant. Genius. Incredibly intelligent.
That’s how Connor Finucane’s coach and football teammates described Army’s senior guard.
Finucane created a “little less than” 15-page handbook called the “MOB Bible”, detailing every play in the Black Knights’ past triple-option offense, for his fellow offensive line brotherhood.
“The triple option is kind of a hefty install,” Finucane said. “It took a little longer to be truly understanding the concepts. So, at first, you really needed to help you along, define all of the terms and show you the schemes, show you why, tell you the why and show you the film. I was more word of mouth so I just took everything I know from what the older guys taught me and what coach (Brent) Davis taught me in the past and consolidated it into a little nifty handbook. It was pretty much the whole offense.”
You’d think a coach was speaking when hearing Finucane talk about football and break it down to its minute elements. Finucane has actually been mistaken for an Army coach or alumni.
“He’s unbelievable,” Army co-offensive coordinator Matt Drinkall said. “He’s like an extra coach in a meeting room, he’s like an extra coach in the dorms. What he does is so unbelievable.”
The Outland Trophy candidate’s knowledge is a valuable asset to Army’s entire offense as the Black Knights embark on the start of a new shotgun scheme.
Learn more about the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Finucane, who has NFL scouts visiting Army practices, from his coach and fellow offensive linemen in their words:
“This is my 21st year of coaching and I have never experienced a player like Connor Finucane, who is truly immersed in being excellent at everything he does, not getting through it, not a result-oriented guy, but really immersed in the process. He’s incredibly intelligent. He’s 10 times smarter than I can ever think about being and he’s so meticulous and detail-oriented.
“Coach (Jeff) Monken has a very specific vision for how this program should look and operate and Connor Finucane embodies every part of it, who he is as a person, how he is mentally, how he is in preparation and execution, attention to detail, mental toughness, physical toughness. He is exactly what you are looking for.” co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach MATT DRINKALL
“If one person could represent the Black Flag, it’s Connor Finucane. We carry that out for every football and that’s our mentality, ‘you are going to have to kill me to beat me’ and that’s what Connor Finucane represents. He’s my brother and I love him to death. He would do anything for me and I’d do anything for him. That’s the epitome of this brotherhood, that fight and that love for one another and that’s Nuk. We have four captains and he’s our ‘let’s do it guy’ he’s that guy carrying the knife out in a fight.” – senior offensive lineman SAM BARCZAK
“I used to think when I was younger that I was obsessed with football and then I met Connor Finucane. He’s psychotic with it. It’s kind of crazy. ‘Nuk’ is very adamant about us learning the offense to his understanding. He understands it to a different level. He’s always down to help and give tips and ideas to other people. It’s crazy to see someone who loves football as much as I do.” offensive tackle Boobie Law
“He’s a great guy. I love the dude. He really pushes the whole MOB (Malicious Offensive Line Brotherhood) every day with just his work ethic and his knowledge of the offense. Him adapting to this offense and being a great expert that he is really pushes all positions besides guard, tackle and center. He’s a good teammate. He’s doing everything good especially as a captain and leading us in the right direction. (I’ve learned from him) the details, the technical details to perform well like he does. The very little step and hand placement and the overall scheme as well. It’s great to have him on my side. It’s an honor to play with him.” senior tackle SHAYNE BUCKINGHAM
“Coming in from tight end to offensive lineman in the triple option, he was huge for me and he continues to be huge for the whole offense moving forward. He’s an offensive savant in a way. He’s a genius at everything he sees and what he sees us do. It’s quite the opportunity to be working with him.” offensive tackle SIMON DELLINGER
