Ohio State appears to be putting its season into the hands of Luke Fahey.
Fahey, compared to the big-time recruits that the Buckeyes often land, seems like an underdog story in the making. If not for family roots, he may not have even ended up at Ohio State — and he’s certainly not the big, prototypical quarterback like Ohio State’s other Julian Sayin (injury) backup, Tavien St. Clair.
But all indications are that Fahey will start with Sayin out, beginning on Saturday at USC, and that will bring this slightly undersized quarterback immediately into the national spotlight.
“He has a moxie about him,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said about Fahey in the lead-up to the USC game. “He has a competitiveness about him… When he steps in the huddle, he’s got it and the lineman feel that.”
Ohio State won a national title with a backup QB before, the memorable run put together a decade ago by Cardale Jones — most remembered for his line that he didn’t come to Ohio State to “play school.”
It’s not yet totally clear how long Sayin is out, but Fahey’s task may indeed be to match Jones and lead the Buckeyes to the top of the country after beginning the season as an unheralded backup.
Who is Luke Fahey?
On a basic level, Luke Fahey is an Ohio State quarterback and a true freshman.
He seemed to come to campus as the QB3 behind Sayin and St. Clair. But when Sayin left the Oct. 17 Indiana game with an injury, it was Fahey who came in.
At some point, he appears to have leapfrogged St. Clair, and so it’ll be Fahey determining the psyche of Ohio State football fans for the rest of the season.
Luke Fahey Recruiting
Fahey was just a three-star recruit out of Mission Viejo High School, a California powerhouse.
It’s a school that produced UCLA star and first-round pick Josh Rosen, as well as former Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei.
Mission Viejo doesn’t need more advertising to top college football programs, but if Fahey performs well, it’ll be just another feather in their cap.
Fahey also had scholarship offers from Indiana and Stanford, according to ESPN.
Luke Fahey Family
Fahey has family ties at Ohio State dating back to 1898, which you can read about more fully at this link.
The starting point is that Fahey’s great-grandfather Edward Gorman enrolled at Ohio State in that year.
ESPN’s Jake Trotter wrote about this earlier this week, sharing these anecdotes:
Gorman later remarried but died when Stephen Fahey’s mother, Rosemary, was only 2. The family’s love for Ohio State endured, with Buckeyes games always playing on the living room radio.
“It was always her dream of going to Ohio State,” (Luke Fahey’s father) Stephen said. “Ohio State was everything to her.”
Rosemary eventually enrolled at Ohio State, where she met Stephen’s father, Robert, who had served in the Korean War. Both worked in the university library.
They married a year later, in 1958. After Robert graduated with an engineering degree, he took a job in California, where Stephen was born.
“But I grew up with it being understood from the earliest days that, yeah, OK, SC, UCLA, that’s great, but Ohio State’s your school, buddy,” Stephen said. “You’re going to watch Ohio State here. That’s your priority.”
Because of the roots, Fahey has always been an Ohio State fan, even growing up in California.
He likely never dreamed of starting this soon, but it’s now up to him to lead the Buckeyes to great heights.
Luke Fahey Height
If Fahey starts, he’ll be the shortest Ohio State starting QB this century, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Fahey is listed at 5-foot-11.
The previous shortest was Troy Smith, who was listed at 6-feet tall.
But the story with Fahey seems to be that it’s not about the size of the dog but about the size of the fight in the dog.
Meet Luke Fahey, Ohio State QB Whose Family Roots and ‘Moxie’ Can Save Buckeyes’ Season