rangy Rice safety with proven tackling chops and a coach’s mindset
Jaylon Finner is a former Rice defensive back who earned his rep as a smart, dependable safety with real production — he finished the 2014 season second on the team with 68 tackles and totaled 124 career tackles while starting for a conference-champion defense in 2013 and playing on three straight bowl teams. His differentiators were consistency, toughness, and secondary IQ rather than flash; ESPN’s recruiting note said he wasn’t the biggest or fastest safety, but had BCS-level ability and flew under the radar. For a team, that screams steady, physical depth with leadership upside.
