Shane Beamer on Air Noland: 'All he wants is an opportunity to compete'

South Carolina’s outlook on adding quarterbacks via the transfer portal has remained the same over the past two offseasons.

The Gamecocks have not been looking for a player who can serve as the team’s starter right away. Rather, they have wanted to provide additional competition to signal callers already on the roster.

Should a quarterback decide to join South Carolina’s football program, Shane Beamer has already made it clear that there are no guarantees attached to their commitment. There is not a guarantee for a starting role, or even for playing time.

Yet, competition is ultimately what drew transfer quarterback Air Noland to the Gamecocks in the first place.

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“Credit to him – all he wants is an opportunity to compete,” Beamer said. “There were quarterbacks that were very interested in South Carolina last year… but they didn’t come here because I wouldn’t promise them the starting job. (I didn’t) promise Air anything but the opportunity to compete. (I) didn’t promise him the backup job – nothing.”

Noland, a former four-star recruit in the class of 2024 (No. 59 overall, according to the On3 Industry Ranking), spent the first season of his college football career at Ohio State. He did not see any action during this season, though, sitting behind Will Howard, Devin Brown, and Julian Sayin – a five-star prospect from the same recruiting class as Noland – on the depth chart. Thus, Noland joins the Gamecocks with four years of eligibility after taking a redshirt.

Noland’s motivation to commit to South Carolina was not solely the opportunity to compete for playing time. He also saw it as an avenue to gain valuable mentorship from members of the Gamecock football program.

South Carolina’s expected starter for 2025, LaNorris Sellers, now has a full year of playing in the SEC under his belt – and he impressed during his debut campaign. Sellers accounted for 2,939 yards of total offense and 24 touchdowns this past season. He earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors in the process and could be a Heisman Trophy candidate next year.

The Gamecocks also possesses a newly hired offensive coordinator with NFL experience in Mike Shula.

“He saw an opportunity to learn under LaNorris and also to learn under Coach Shula,” Beamer said. “Mike Shula, I think – not to speak for Air – was a big attraction to him.”

The recruiting process for Noland began when he reached out to Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Darren Uscher and the team’s recruiting staff, Beamer said. Noland was interested in taking an official visit, which the team scheduled for Dec. 21.

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Beamer admits he was not extremely familiar with Noland before the visit. But he came out of it excited about what Noland had to offer.

“I did not know Air. I knew of him, obviously, coming out of high school (but) did not know him personally. But (I) was really impressed with him and his family when they were down here last weekend,” Beamer said. “He spent two days with us and walked around with a notebook and literally took notes on every single thing that we were talking to him about. So, he’s very mature and very professional.”

Noland’s pledge to South Carolina provides the team with much-needed depth after Robby Ashford entered the transfer portal and Davis Beville exhausted his NCAA eligibility this offseason.

As things currently stand, the Gamecocks have two scholarship quarterbacks on its roster outside of Sellers and Noland – Dante Reno and Cutter Woods. Neither signal-caller has attempted a pass in their college football career. Reno led South Carolina’s offense for one series in the fourth quarter of its 50-7 win over Akron. He will be a redshirt freshman next year, while Woods will be a true freshman.

“The fact of the matter is, before Air came, we had three scholarship quarterbacks in our room. And that’s scary… So, we wanted to increase competition in that room, just like every position,” Beamer said. “We’ve been honest and forthright. We called Cutter Woods back in October and told him there was a chance that we may sign two high school quarterbacks in this year’s class. And we ended up not – it didn’t quite work out.”

Competition has been central to Beamer’s culture at South Carolina since he took over as head coach in 2021. And with Noland’s signing, there’s no sign of that mentality slowing down at any spot on the roster.

“I tell our players all the time, ‘If you love to compete, you’re going to love being a part of this program. And if you don’t love to compete, you’re not going to make it very far,'” Beamer said.

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