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What Air Noland learned from redshirting last year and how that can help him at South Carolina

imageby:Jack Veltri•about 8 hours•

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Air Noland (Katie Dugan/GamecockCentral)

High school football came easily for Air Noland. As a quarterback at Langston Hughes High (GA), he always felt like he could let it rip and have fun.

Noland still remembers throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass to his receiver Rodney Shelley, who’s now a defensive back at Georgia Tech. That was the longest touchdown he had thrown, and it came when he was only a sophomore.

“It was a backside one-on-one type of deal, so it was a yes-no. We had trips to the field. To the boundary, I liked my one-on-one,” Noland told GamecockCentral. “The corner was kind of not in a good position. So I felt like we had a double move that I could go to. I did my double move, and (Shelley) took it 99.”

During his high school career, Noland threw for over 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns, 55 of which came as a junior. He was one of the best quarterbacks, let alone players, in the country for his class.

But since coming to college, he’s done much more learning and watching. He transferred to South Carolina, knowing LaNorris Sellers was going to be the starter going into this season. Even when he was at Ohio State as a freshman, he didn’t play at all and ended up redshirting while the Buckeyes won a national championship.

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Noland had originally committed to Ohio State, believing it was the best decision for him. But there was a good reason why he didn’t take any snaps: a very crowded quarterback room. The Buckeyes had landed Will Howard from Kansas State out of the transfer portal. Devin Brown had already been there for multiple seasons. They also had Lincoln Kienholz, a four-star quarterback in the class of 2023, and Julian Sayin, a five-star who was the second-best player at his position in the 2024 class.

This left Noland as one of the odd men out, even as a four-star and No. 5-ranked quarterback in his class. Even though he never played, he got to learn a Chip Kelly offense, which was crucial for his development.

“I learned that the playbook can extend very far, as long as you can take on everything that they’re giving you,” Noland said. “I feel like I learned a lot from Coach Chip Kelly, also. He’s a great coach, and I feel like he taught me a lot of knowledge that I needed to learn going into college.”

Kelly, who was the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator last year, led Ohio State to a season in which the offense averaged 429.4 yards and 35.7 points per game. Noland described Kelly’s offense as “a stepping stone each and every day” to learn the playbook well.

“You have to learn the playbook, just like you have to learn how to crawl. So you have to take it by baby steps and just be comfortable and be within your skin,” he said. “Try not to do too much with the playbook or get outside your frame; just stay within the system. I feel like anybody can be a great quarterback in that playbook if you’re locked in.”

Now, at South Carolina, Noland might not see much action this season with Sellers as the returning QB1. So, why come here knowing that was the case? With four years of eligibility remaining, he could be next in line after Sellers’ time in college ends. But he also wants to embrace the competition in the room.

“It pushes you each and every day. It doesn’t let you be lackadaisical. It makes you a better quarterback,” Noland said. “I feel like competition also brings the best out of you. With a quarterback like LaNorris Sellers, he’s a guy I can push and hopefully compete with and have fun with that.”

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