QB Luke Fahey can join Terrelle Pryor, Braxton Miller as true freshman Ohio State starters

QB Luke Fahey can join Terrelle Pryor, Braxton Miller as true freshman Ohio State starters originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback situation has taken an interesting twist in the last few weeks. Starting signal-caller Julian Sayin suffered an injury to his right throwing arm during the Buckeyes' 19-15 win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Oct. 17.

Although head coach Ryan Day initially stated that Sayin will miss a few weeks, he has since been ruled out "indefinitely." It's unclear if he will return to the Buckeyes this season. Although Day has yet to name a starting quarterback to replace Sayin, he will be choosing between true freshman Luke Fahey and sophomore Tavien St. Clair.

If Fahey wins the job, he would not be the first true freshman to start under center for the Buckeyes. The last to do so were Terrelle Pryor and Braxton Miller.

Let's take a look back at how both players fared.

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Terrelle Pryor, 2008

Coming out of high school, Pryor was a highly touted recruit. From the class of 2008, he was rated as the No. 1 overall dual-threat quarterback, and the top-rated player from his home state of Pennsylvania per the 247Sports Composite. Pryor's quarterback class that year included the likes of EJ Manuel, Dayne Christ, Andrew Luck and Blaine Gabbert.

Pryor's recruitment to Ohio State had some drama. Although he was set to sign on National Signing Day between Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State, his signing was delayed over a month. Finally on March 19, he announced he was signing with the Buckeyes.

Pryor backed up returning starter Todd Boekman until head coach Jim Tressel switched quarterbacks during the Buckeyes 35-3 loss at then-No. 1 USC in Week 3. The Buckeyes scored just three points, and Boekman threw for just 84 yards and two interceptions in the loss. Pryor started for Boekman in the second half, and finished with seven completions for 52 yards passing, rushing for another 40 yards on the ground.

With Pryor as the starter, Ohio State went 8-1 and finished the regular season 10-2 with wins over ranked opponents in Wisconsin, Michigan State and Northwestern. His best performance came during the Buckeyes' 45-10 road victory over the Wildcats, throwing for 197 yards and three touchdowns.

On the season, he threw for 1,311 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions, adding six rushing scores on the ground. He finished 8-2 as a starter that season, losing to Penn State and Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.

Pryor led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship in 2009, as well as a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon, where he was named MVP. He led OSU to a 12-1 season in 2010, and Pryor withdrew from Ohio State in the wake of the Jim Tressell resignation in June 2011.

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Braxton Miller, 2011

Thanks to the departure of Tressell, Ohio State was led by interim head coach Luke Fickell. Miller was rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback from the class of 2011. The Dayton, Ohio, was in a class of players with Florida's Jeff Driskel, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel. He committed to Ohio State to play for Tressel in June 2010, and enrolled in January 2011, six months prior to Tressel's resignation.

He started the season behind senior quarterback Joe Bauserman, but after the Buckeyes lost 24-6 on the road against Miami, Miller got the nod as Ohio State's starter the next week against Colorado. His first start was a quiet one, throwing for just five completions for 83 yards and two touchdowns as OSU won 37-17.

His next start against Michigan State wasn't the brightest either, as he completed just five passes for 56 yards and an interception. Brauserman came in for Miller in the second half, scoring Ohio State's only touchdown of the day with 10 seconds left. But the Spartans recovered an onside kick, and MSU won 10-7.

The next week against Nebraska, Miller left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, and the Buckeyes fell 34-27. But Miller improved as OSU's starter the rest of the season, leading the Buckeyes to a 17-7 road win over Illinois the next week.

He led OSU to a 6-6 finish, closing out the season with three straight losses to Purdue, Penn State and Michigan. But his best performances of the season came in the overtime loss to Purdue and the 40-34 loss to rival Michigan. Against the Boilermakers, Miller threw for 132 yards with two touchdowns, and rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown. Against the Wolverines he had his biggest game yet, throwing for a career-high 235 yards with two touchdowns and a rushing score. But his lone interception thrown with less than a minute left ended the Buckeyes' upset hopes.

The Wolverines lost to Florida in the Gator Bowl as Miller played against his future coach, then-Gator head coach Urban Meyer. Miller was Ohio State's starter for the Buckeyes' undefeated 2012 that included a bowl ban.

He led Ohio State to a 12-3 record in 2013, but suffered a career-altering shoulder injury in the Orange Bowl against Clemson. He tore the labrum of his same injured shoulder and switched to wide receiver in 2014, taking a medical redshirt that year. Across his three seasons as Ohio State's quarterback, he threw for 5,295 yards with 52 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, including 3,314 rushing yards with 33 touchdowns.

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Could Luke Fahey be the next true freshman to start?

Ohio State's more recent starting quarterbacks were not true freshman starters. Dwayne Haskins took a redshirt behind J.T. Barrett, who also redshirted. Justin Fields started his career at Georgia, and CJ Stroud also took a redshirt. Kylc McCord started as a sophomore.

Will Howard started his career at Kansas State, and his backup, Sayin, started as a sophomore last season.

Fahey will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Miller and Pryor under center for the Buckeyes. Unlike those them, Fahey was ranked a little lower coming out of high school, checking in as a three-star from the class of 2026. He was ranked as the No. 35 quarterback, playing out of Mission Viejo Calif.

“Both quarterbacks practiced well last week," Day said leading up to the USC game on Oct. 31. "We will keep working this week and working on packages for both guys. Luke was ahead going into Indiana, but they’re both working hard.”

Across four seasons tracked by MaxPreps, Fahey threw for 7,021 yards with 68 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He rushed for 1,087 yards with 11 touchdowns, as well.

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