Northwestern quarterback Finley Polk hopes to end prep career with a state championship

Finley Polk wants to etch his legacy at Northwestern as one of the great quarterbacks to come through the program.

Polk — the Trojans’ senior quarterback — knows that list of great quarterbacks includes players such as Mason Rudolph, now quarterback for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. He wants to go out as a state champion so he can leave his mark on the program the way many have before him.

“With it being my senior year, this is my last chance to (win a state title),” Polk said. “It means a little more to me. These next games will be my last time getting to wear the Trojan jersey, so I want to go out on top and end the year great. We’ve had a great year so far, but we’ve got to keep trucking.”

Northwestern has made just as big of an impact on Polk, according to him, and he wants to be able to deliver a championship to the place that has given him the platform to grow his game, advance to the next level and play in college next year at Gardner-Webb.

“The family that I have built in with this team, it’s been great,” Polk said. “There are so many great memories I have shared with everybody while I’ve been here, from hanging out during the summer to going out to eat. It is just a big family, and I am going to miss these guys when I’m gone, but I am going to make the most of it while I’m still here.”

After going 10-0 in the regular season, Polk knows that the team will get tested even more in the playoffs. But he isn’t adding any unwarranted pressure to the mix. He feels as if the team plays the best version of Northwestern football, they can achieve their goal of winning the championship.

“We try not to put a lot of pressure on us,” Polk said of the Trojans, who earned a bye in this week’s opening round of the playoffs. “We just try to do the same thing each week. We know what we are coached to do. So, if everybody does their job, we will be OK, and I like our chances.”

Polk says one thing his head coach, Page Wofford, preaches is that in the playoffs, little mistakes are amplified. So to get to where they want to be, eliminating the small mistakes could be the difference between being the last team standing or taking off the Northwestern jersey early.

“We have to focus on the small things,” Polk said. “The things that may seem small can hurt you in the playoffs. We can’t have turnovers. We can’t have a lot of penalties or things like that. We can’t give our opponents any added advantage. As coach (Wofford) says, ‘Everything is under the spotlight in the playoffs.’ Big plays are even bigger, and the small plays are also big.”

For Wofford, he says it has been a pleasure to coach Polk in his time at Northwestern. It never mattered what he asked Polk to do; it was always, “Yes, sir.”

“(Polk) has always been a great kid,” Wofford said. “He is always respectful and has always been a team guy. He is a team-first player and incredibly unselfish. He just wants to be good so the team can win. So to see him have the success he has had over the last few years has been very good and very satisfying.”

Wofford said one of Polk’s best qualities is his short-term memory.

“He is able to get rid of the bad plays mentally and go on to the next play quickly,” Wofford said. “As the quarterback, that is helpful because even after a play might not go the way we drew it up, he is able to rally the guys and get everyone focused on the next play. He is doing a great job of that, and I tell them, if you want to score the next touchdown, you have to forget about the last touchdown. He has taken that to heart.”

Wofford says that Polk’s legacy is still to be determined. Wofford, who was a longtime assistant coach with the Trojans before becoming the head coach in 2019, has seen a lot of great quarterback play in his time at the school. Polk and Wofford both know that for him to etch his legacy, this year needs to end with rings on their fingers.

“(Polk’s legacy) will be determined at the end of the year,” Wofford said. “It is something that we’ve talked about. We’ve got a sign in my office with a backdrop that has former quarterbacks on it. All of those quarterbacks have one thing in common. They have all won state championships. So, he can be that next guy, and hopefully he will be that next guy.”