Air Noland has black stripe removed at Ohio State

Ohio State freshman quarterback Air Noland can officially join the ranks of the rest of the team as a full-fledged member.

The talented top-100 recruit had his black helmet stripe removed by the Buckeyes, with the program announcing the news on Wednesday evening via Twitter.

🚨 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 🚨

The Lefty who gets it done anytime, anywhere, welcome to the brotherhood, @AirNoland_ 🌰🎯 pic.twitter.com/7xSxk1IHCU

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 25, 2024

Just because a player is on the Ohio State football roster and practicing with the team doesn’t make them a full-fledged Buckeye in the program’s eyes. That’s something that is earned through effort and work ethic.

Noland has now shown enough of that, allowing him to have his black stripe removed, revealing the scarlett stripe beneath it.

The black stripe tradition is far from the oldest in college sports, but it’s an important one to the Buckeyes. It started under Urban Meyer in 2012 when he put black stripes on the freshman class and made those players earn the right to remove the stripe. To earn that right, players needed to prove they were willing to put in the work and be a part of the program.

To this day, freshmen, walk-ons, and transfers need to earn the right to remove their black stripe. Air Noland has now done so.

Air Noland Recruiting Profile

Air Noland was one of the top prospects in the 2024 recruiting class, checking in as the No. 59 overall recruit in the class. He was the No. 5 quarterback in the class.

On3 provided an extensive scouting report on Noland, which you can view below:

“Instinctual, accurate southpaw passer who shredded opposing defenses through the air as a junior. Was the most productive passer among top 2024 quarterbacks. Measured in at around 6-foot-2, 185 pounds with a 9-inch hand in the spring prior to his senior season. Has a streamlined frame with thinner shoulders.

“Had a monster junior season, completing 73.1% of his passes for 4,095 yards (12.7 yards per attempt) for 55 touchdowns against four interceptions. Led Langston Hughes to a state title in a high classification and helmed an offense that set the state record for most points scored. Shows high end field vision with the ability to go through his reads and find open receivers. At his best as a reliable distributor to talented skill players. Throws with timing and touch. Accurate to all levels and shows the ability to layer the football and locate throws into small windows. Arm strength is solid, but may not be on the level of some of his highly-ranked peers. Plays with an advanced feel and shows a nice internal clock against the pass rush. A pass-first quarterback but has some creativity and mobility when needed.

“One of the safest bets among quarterbacks in the 2024 cycle given his on-field success and production relative to his peers.”

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.