WAYMON FINLEY DIDN'T LIKE CONTACT … WHEN HE WAS FIVE-YEARS OLD.
Playing Little League football coming out of the Acres Homes neighborhood, you better be tough. "Honestly, I was kind of scared to get hit," he laughed. "My coach gave me the ball and told me to run against two dudes and I learned to love contact. I just kept getting tougher and tougher."
Finley got so comfortable at running back he earned his nickname, which has stuck for more than a decade. "I just ran over people at five-years old," he said. "They started calling me Bull and it stuck." Finley let his play talk for himself as an underclassman at IKE, letting the seniors take the lead in the locker room. But he's grown into the role as the team leader as a senior.
"He's got some edginess to him, now," Coach Eric Jackson said. "Some kids are born leaders, but he's grown into the role. Now he's very vocal and gets on his teammates when he needs to. They follow him. Who wouldn't? They are all scared of him. "Every year, you have that senior who will talk to the coach and tell them what's really going on," Jackson continued. "We have a great relationship and he's become that guy. He's now comfortable in that role."
It was Finley speaking up that really changed the trajectory of his high school career. "He's always been good and has started since his freshman year," Jackson said. "He was a stud at linebacker. When our starting back went out last year, he came up to me and said, 'Coach, you know I can run the ball, right?' "We put him in the game and gave him a few carries. We were like, wow, we didn't know he could run like that. He runs behind his pads and has power in his legs. He can catch and block. He's not afraid to strike you on either side of the ball."
He would be named the District's All Purpose MVP in 2019 for his play at linebacker and running back. Bull is picking up where he left off in 2019 and has hopes of playing in college. He's been offered by Louisiana College so far. "He's going to play somewhere," Jackson said. "He's just too versatile. You get a running back and linebacker in one.