COLUMBUS, Ohio – As Ohio State scrambled to find a third scholarship quarterback in 2009, desperate to find a recruit to join Terrelle Pryor and Joe Bauserman in assistant coach Nick Siciliano's quarterbacks room, the Buckeyes stumbled upon Kenny Guiton.

It was just a few days before National Signing Day. Tajh Boyd had decided on Clemson over Ohio State, and Austin Boucher stuck with his pledge to Miami (Ohio) rather than flip to the Buckeyes. Then-recruiting coordinator John Peterson was in Houston, and as the call went out to the OSU staff to find a quarterback, Guiton was in Houston, too, as an under-recruited senior at Eisenhower High.

A day later, he agreed to be a Buckeye, and Eisenhower coach Ray Evans told The Plain Dealer, "It's a great family and they've done a real good job with the kid. He's a 'yes sir, no sir,' kid."

Last week, more than four years later, Guiton stood in the sun outside Ohio State's practice facility, completely comfortable with his role as a Buckeye. It's a role that leaves him under-appreciated until, in times of desperation, the Buckeyes need him again.

Does offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman have faith in Guiton if he's needed?

“Without a doubt,” Herman said. “Without a doubt.”

A fifth-year senior, Guiton serves as the link between two talented quarterbacks – Pryor and Braxton Miller; two head coaches who love working with quarterbacks – Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer; and two very different quarterbacks coaches – Siciliano and Tom Herman.

The offense he arrived to be a part of, in personnel and in style, is gone. Guiton has stuck around, and the backup plan in recruiting evolved into the perfect backup quarterback.

Do you prepare like a starter?

“Yes, sir.”

You know you might be needed for this team to win a national title?

“Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I always stay ready. I work hard to try to prepare like I'm the starter, so when the time comes, there's no dropoff.”

You expect to be in there at some point this season, Kenny?

“Yes, sir, I expect to get some time, yes, sir.”

In crucial moments?

“I hope so. Let's see.”

Ohio State backup QB Kenny Guiton was just the man to lead the Buckeyes to a come-from-behind win against Purdue last year,but filling in for Braxton Miller for a longer stretch would be a different situation.

Calm, cool, respected and an easy leader, Guiton is the ideal man in desperate times, like the way he bailed out the Buckeyes with a game-tying drive, and then a win in overtime, against Purdue last season as Miller was being loaded into an ambulance. For that, he will always be loved.

“I get thanked a lot,” Guiton said.

There are two roles for a backup, though.

One is as the emergency, temporary, in-the-moment fill-in, and Guiton was called on for that several times last season as Miller went to the sidelines. Playing in nine of 12 games, some of them in garbage time, Guiton was 13 of 23 for 139 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Then there's the other role – to serve as the starter when the top guy goes down for longer than just a play or a quarter or a half. That's when it's time to take a full week of snaps as the No. 1 quarterback, to allow defenses to prepare for you and to have to go win a game from start to finish.

You're no longer the man for a desperate time. You're part of the plan. That's difficult for any college team to handle. In an offense than runs so much on Miller's playmaking ability, a switch to Guiton would be a major shift in style.

“Braxton can run around and he can make a few people miss,” Guiton said. “I like to think I can run, but I don't know if I'm as exciting as him.”

Backup quarterbacks aren't supposed to be exciting, not unless they're a raw young player just waiting for a chance to eventually start. Guiton has never been that player. The Buckeyes had trouble recruiting quarterbacks behind Pryor for a couple years because no one wanted to sit behind him.

Guiton was recruited as a backup, arrived as a backup and, at his best, is a backup at Ohio State. Which may be why he's so good at it.

“He has all the intangibles you could ask for, as a leader and as a quarterback knowing the offense inside and out, he was a coach on the field,” Herman said, “he just didn't quite have the quick release and velocity on his ball. That has improved. That's not close to where Braxton's is or maybe some of the elite guys in the country, but he makes up maybe for some of that deficiency with his leadership and his ability and anticipation. So he's a rock my room, I can tell you that.”

Guiton also smashed a finger on his right hand while moving this summer and missed most of his summer throwing. He didn't really throw until the first day of camp and was a little rusty. (That's another difference between a backup QB and a starter. The starter would have made teammates move his stuff for him.)

Herman said he thinks Guiton could start for at least half of the 125 teams in major college football, and that other places Herman has been, they'd do cartwheels to have Guiton as the starter. Remember, Herman was at Rice and Iowa State before Ohio State.

If Miller goes down for any length of time, going from one of the five or 10 best quarterbacks in the country to something like the 65th best would be a dropoff for Ohio State.

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Guiton said he's always had trouble keeping on weight. But in a pinch, for a play, for a quarter, to finish a game that needs to be won, Guiton has proven he's strong enough to carry a team in the moment. Maybe he's never been the plan, but when you're desperate, Kenny Guiton is the guy you want to turn to.