Iowa State’s freshman quarterback Todd Bandhauer said Tuesday he never expected to start a collegiate game his first year with the Cyclones.

But a reoccurring ankle injury to starter Todd Doxzon has forced Coach Dan McCarney to insert Bandhauer, a true freshman, into Saturday’s starting lineup against Oklahoma State.

Bandhauer became Doxzon’s backup after passing Jeff St. Clair the depth chart earlier this month.

“I’m excited,” said Bandhauer, a 6-foot 4-inch 215-pound native of Lecanto, Fla.

“I’ve been waiting since I was a young kid to start. It’s just a dream come true.”

McCarney said at his weekly news conference Tuesday he doesn’t expect ISU’s offensive production to drop with Bandhauer, who played most of the game against Colorado last week, at the helm. Doxzon has better foot speed, but Bandhauer is a better passer, he said.

“We’re not going to run a lot of option or quarterback draws, but [Bandhauer] has a stronger arm, honestly,” McCarney said. “We’re not going to reduce anything. We have great faith in him that he can run the offense we have.”

Against Colorado, Bandhauer, 18, completed 13 of 28 passes for 130 yards and led a third-quarter ISU charge that helped the Cyclones pull ahead of the No. 7 Buffaloes, 28-27. Colorado rallied in the fourth quarter for a 50-28 win.

ISU assistant Phil Meyer recruited Bandhauer out of high school, where he completed 199 of 252 passes for 1,655 yards his senior year.

The freshman was also heavily recruited by Louisville and had considered attending an Ivy League school.

Bandhauer, a mechanical engineering major, said he chose ISU because he was impressed with the Cyclone coaching staff, specifically assistant Jay Norvell.

“I wanted a chance to play and [ISU] is exactly what I wanted in a college,” he said. “Louisville is a commuter campus, and I didn’t like that.”

Bandhauer said he only had one year of quarterbacking experience in Lecanto, and that may have hurt his standing with many Division I programs. Bandhauer was a defensive end during his junior year of high school.

“We saw what we wanted in him,” McCarney said. “I saw him at a high school basketball game … and really liked him. We feel extremely lucky that we got him in the short time that we had to recruit last year.”

McCarney added that he was surprised more Division I teams didn’t show an interest in Bandhauer. “He has a lot of things that we’re looking for in a quarterback to run our offense,” he said.

McCarney also used Tuesday as an opportunity to tout Troy Davis, the nation’s leading rusher with 1,324 yards so far this season for the Cyclones, for the Heisman Trophy.

“He is a legitimate candidate,” McCarney said. “I can not imagine him not being a candidate at least, for what he’s done for this football team.

“We don’t have the national exposure because we don’t have a complete football team, but he’s leading the nation in two major categories … I can’t imagine there’s a football player in the country that’s done more for a football team than what Troy’s done to this point.”

McCarney said Davis proved himself with 203 yards against Colorado last week, 120 yards against Kansas and 139 yards against Iowa. He said Davis should get consideration, in part because his numbers have come behind an offensive line with six first-year starters.

McCarney said that Davis’ chances of winning the nation’s top college football award “probably aren’t very good.”