Ever since his sensational freshman season at Rutgers in 2009, Tom Savage's career has been defined by waiting.

Waiting through two transfers to find a starting spot at Pittsburgh after his "mistake" of leaving Rutgers. Waiting through nearly four full rounds to hear his name in the 2014 NFL Draft. Waiting through a 2015 season spent on injured reserve.

But now, with his third NFL season in its final two weeks, Savage's next big chance has arrived.

After entering last week's game against the Jaguars in the second quarter and leading Houston to a 21-20 comeback win, Savage has been named the Texans' starting quarterback for Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"It's been a long journey, as everybody (knows)," Savage said. "It's not really a sob story or anything. I had a longer journey to get to the NFL - obviously, transferring twice - but I think it kind of made me the man I am today. Never take these things for granted, just go out there and have fun and enjoy each day and enjoy the locker room. That's kind of what I'm going to do."

Savage earned his starting shot after an explosive performance against Jacksonville, when he completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards.

While he didn't connect on a touchdown pass - and is still looking for his first NFL TD after three career backup appearances - that effort was enough to help Houston claw back from an early 13-0 deficit.

Now, with Houston locked in a tie with the Tennessee Titans atop the AFC North, Savage will no doubt be trying to channel his early days as a Scarlet Knight.

During that 2009 season, he earned freshman All-America honors after grabbing the starting role in Week 2 and leading Rutgers to a 9-4 record with a St. Petersburg Bowl victory.

"I mean, it's a great opportunity to go out there and kind of show what I can do," Savage said. "Really, just like I said, I have to go out there and execute what I need to do. I'm going to have some fun doing it and just go rip it."

While this Sunday will mark Savage's first start, it isn't his first chance to grab onto the role.

That came about during his rookie season, when then-Houston QB Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg in a Dec. 14 game against the Colts. Savage stepped in and completed 10 of 19 passes to finish it out, but was disappointed with his play in the 17-10 loss.

The Texans apparently agreed, as they bypassed Savage and signed Case Keenum to fill the QB role for the season's final two weeks.

But now, after another two years of patience - plus rehab on a shoulder injury that shelved him for all of 2015 - the opportunity is there for him to grab again.

"He's a much improved player relative to that time when he played as a rookie," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's had a lot of preseason snaps. The key is he's got to keep improving every day, can't take a step back. He's got to go out here tomorrow and just take it day-by-day, snap-by-snap and try to get better."

Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.