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Who is Luke Fahey? How 3-star true freshman won Ohio State backup job
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- Who is Luke Fahey? How 3-star true freshman won Ohio State backup job
Ohio State football will rely on a first-time starting quarterback for likely the rest of the season as it attempts to contend for a national championship.
Following Julian Sayin's potentially season-ending shoulder injury against Indiana, the Buckeyes will turn to true freshman Luke Fahey, per CBS Sports. Fahey took over at the end of Ohio State's 19-15 win over Indiana on Oct. 17.
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Fahey won the backup role before the season, despite 5-star Tavien St. Clair also being on the roster. Coach Ryan Day insisted he hasn't decided on who will start against the Trojans, though, with both quarterbacks receiving snaps in practice leading up to the game.
"Both will be ready to play," Day said. "Guys on the team have confidence that if both were put in the game, that they can do their job."
Filling out a quarterback depth chart is extremely difficult in today's age of college football, given the transfer portal and the position being among the most expensive in the sport. Maybe Fahey can be the exception and lead Ohio State down the stretch like backups J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones did during the Buckeyes' national championship run in 2014.
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Entering the season, St. Clair was expected to be the next highly talented quarterback to start for the Buckeyes. It's Fahey, though, who's expected to take the reigns.
How Luke Fahey beat out Tavien St. Clair as Ohio State's backup quarterback in offseason
There wasn't much intrigue in Ohio State's quarterback depth chart entering the 2026 season. Sayin was the returning starter, with St. Clair expected to serve as the backup and future starter with Fahey, the only other scholarship signal caller on the roster, the likely third-string quarterback.
Fahey, a 3-star recruit of the 2026 recruiting class, is also a year younger than St. Clair, the nation's No. 7-ranked player of the 2025 class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings.
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Fahey, though, made an immediate impact upon arriving at Ohio State from Mission Viejo, California, being one of four true freshmen to lose their black stripe after the team's first scrimmage of fall camp this season.
"He's really been going a great job," Day said in August. "He's putting a lot of pressure on Tavien. He really is. He's been competing. He's been making plays."
Fahey and St. Clair continued to split second-team reps in practice leading up to Ohio State's season opener against Ball State. It was Fahey that entered first in the game, though, despite both quarterbacks playing and completing 5-of-6 passes each in the game.
Both quarterbacks again played against Kent State the following week, although Fahey entered behind Sayin first and took more snaps.
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Luke Fahey recruiting ranking
Despite his 3-star rating, Fahey took visits to a trio of schools known for their quarterback development in Oklahoma State, Indiana and Ohio State. He also visited Stanford, and held offers from Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas Tech, among others.
Fahey was the No. 586-ranked player and No. 35 quarterback of the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was also the No. 47-ranked player in California.
Luke Fahey high school stats
Fahey played at West Coast powerhouse Mission Viejo High School, leading the school to a state championship in California's second-highest level last season.
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He broke a school record in 2025 with 568 passing yards in a win over Los Alamitos, another school known for producing high-end Division I title. He finished his senior season with 3,199 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes.
Fahey was a 3-year starter at Mission Viejo, passing for over 7,000 yards with 68 touchdowns to nine interceptions in his career, also completing over 70% of his passes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Luke Fahey? How 3-star true freshman won Ohio State backup job
