Temple University Athletics
2017 Football Roster
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Roster
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Sharif Finch
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-5
- Weight:
- 250
- Class:
- Redshirt Senior
- Hometown:
- Henrico, Va.
- High School:
- Henrico
Is the NCAA active leader for career punt blocks with five.Â
Honors: 2017 - Second Team All-American Athletic Conference ... N4A Student-Athlete Award (September) ... American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Navy) ... APEX Predator Defensive Player of the Game (Villanova) ... #theSTANDARD Player of the Game (Navy) ... Under Armour Student-Athlete of the Week (Navy) ... 2016 - Defensive Production Player of the Week (Stony Brook) ... Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week (UCF) ... 2015 - American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week (10/24), Special Teams Co-Player of the Game (East Carolina) ... 2014 - Midseason All-AAC First Team by Phil Steele Publications ... Defensive Lineman of the Week honorable mention by CFPA (Navy, UConn) ... American Athletic Conference Honor Roll (Delaware State).Â
2017 (Redshirt Senior): Was awarded the #6 jersey (previously wore #56) - Temple gives single-digit jerseys to the team's toughest players ... co-captain for the opening game at Notre Dame ... recovered game-sealing fumble against Villanova ... set a new career-high for sacks in a season (7.5) good fro second on the team ... finished frst with 14.5 TFLs adn frst among DL in tackles (51) ... holds the record for games player by an Owl (52; along with Corey Lerch and Alex Starzyk).Â
2016 (Senior):  Blocked a punt in the opening game vs. Army, adding to his total of  five career blocked punts ... tied his single-game career-high in sacks (1.0) and tackles for loss (2.0) vs. Stony Brook  ... recorded his first forced fumble of the season vs. Charlotte ...  chronic knee injuries limited him to four games and was granted a medical redshirt.Â2015 (Junior): Played 12 of 13 games in the defensive end rotation ...  recorded a 26-yard INT return against Penn State to set up the go-ahead score ... blocked a punt at Charlotte that led to a Nate L. Smith return TD ... missed UCF while nursing a knee injury ... returned to lineup and blocked two punts against East Carolina ...  finished second in the nation in blocked kicks.
2014 (Sophomore): A converted LB, Finch earned the starting DE spot by showing a knack for getting to the QB ... on Navy’s first offensive play, he forced a fumble that he recovered in the endzone for a TD ... had first career interception in week 3 vs. Delaware State, where he returned it 65 yards for a touchdown ... was one of only three players in the nation that had more than his two defensive touchdowns ... spent games 7-8 at SLB due to depleted LB corps ... returned to the starting lineup against Cincinnati.
2013 (Freshman): A true freshman who added to the youthfulness of the defensive front seven ... battled senior SLB Blaze Caponegro throughout the season and  got the chance to start vs. Army and @SMU while Caponegro nursed an injury ... in the season finale, batted down a pass on 3rd down forcing Memphis to punt and then blocked the punt on the following play which Temple recovered in the endzone for a TD.
High School: Played linebacker for coach Roger Brookes at Henrico (VA) HS where he was a teammate of fellow Owl Cequan Jefferson … as a senior, had 123 tackles and seven sacks … as a junior, had 161 tackles and 10.5 sacks … led the team in every defensive statistical category as a junior and senior ...Â
Personal:  Born Sharif Finch ... parents are Wendy Finch and Gregory Finch … originally from Queens, N.Y. ... communication studies major.
