Roy Finch (born October 1, 1991) is a former professional American and Canadian football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

. He was signed by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

. He has also been a member of the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL).

College career

Finch was recruited by several

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

football teams, and he chose Oklahoma over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. During his four-year career with the Sooners, Finch ran for 1,412 yards with six touchdowns and caught 58 passes including two touchdowns. In his junior year against

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Finch ran a kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, tying an Oklahoma record.

Professional career

New England Patriots

After going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Finch was signed to a three-year contract by the Patriots. He was, however, released by the Patriots prior to the start of the 2014 season.

Ottawa Redblacks

Following his release from the Patriots, Finch signed with the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks. During five games with the Redblacks, he carried the ball 24 times for 95 yards and had a 21.6-yard average on kick returns. He was released by the Redblacks prior to the 2015 season.

Calgary Stampeders

After Finch sat out the 2015 season, during which he finished his degree at Oklahoma, he received a tryout with and was signed by the Stampeders for the 2016 season. Finch became a fan favorite during his time with the Stampeders. In his first season with Calgary, Finch excelled as a kick returner, recording 71 punt returns for 993 yards and a touchdown and returning 43 kickoffs for 1,060 yards. In June 2017, Finch was suspended two games for violating the CFL's drug policy. During the 2017 season, Finch returned three kicks for touchdowns, tying a Calgary franchise record held by Derrick Crawford. He was named the CFL's top special teams player for the season. Finch was set to return for another season with the Stampeders, until plans to return were derailed by his arrest in spring 2018 in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest cit ...

. Finch announced in early May 2018, that he was putting his football career on hold indefinitely and he would not be reporting to the Stampeders 2018 training camp.

Personal

Finch grew up in

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War. The population of Clinton was 38,760 at the 2020 cens ...

. He graduated from Niceville (FL) High School, though he attended

Edmond North High School Edmond North High School is located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The school colors are silver, white and navy. The school's mascot is the Siberian Husky. As of the 2012–2013 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,437 students and 127 classroom ...

in Oklahoma for his sophomore year. He grew up a fan of the New England Patriots. On April 16, 2018, it was announced that Finch had been arrested by police officers in

for allegedly assaulting a police officer the previous weekend. In late June 2019 criminal charges against Finch related to kidnapping and domestic abuse were dropped after a key witness failed to appear for a preliminary hearing.

References

External links

Oklahoma bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Roy 1991 births Living people African-American players of Canadian football American football running backs American players of Canadian football Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football running backs New England Patriots players Oklahoma Sooners football players Ottawa Redblacks players People from Niceville, Florida Sportspeople from Okaloosa County, Florida Players of American football from Florida 21st-century African-American sportspeople