Air Noland was open on Tuesday. After the fifth Ohio State After training camp concluded, the freshman quarterback faced reporters at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and admitted he was homesick after joining the Buckeyes as an early enrollee.
However, this did not deter him from his commitment to the program.
“I was still fully present with Woody and at the training sessions, fully present with my teammates. Of course I was homesick when I arrived here, but that didn’t distract me.”
The College Park, Georgia native had a rollercoaster start to his college career, especially because the Buckeyes signed another top-5 quarterback from his class, Julian Sayinduring Noland’s first month on campus.
Sayin came from Alabama after legendary coach Nick Saban unexpectedly retired this winter. Ohio State, in turn, received five scholarship quarterbacks, including two from the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Sayin has hit the ground running this spring. That wasn’t necessarily the case for Noland, who had his ups and downs in March and April. Noland finished on a high, completing 5 of 7 passes for 47 yards in the spring game and rushing for another 42 yards on five carries while contributing two consecutive touchdown runs.
Despite being two highly touted prospects and extremely competitive quarterbacks from the same class, Noland and Sayin are growing closer. Noland stressed that Sayin is his “man” and that they make each other better.
But the fact is that the quarterback room is crowded, and that means fewer reps are possible, especially as the Buckeyes play more and more team periods without split-field action. Noland is often the fifth and final quarterback inserted into the rotation.
“Yes, it’s a challenge,” Noland said of balancing reps, “but I know that when I compete, I just have to do my best and just be myself.”
Noland added: “I just have to know the direction and know where to go with the ball, have a plan and then know the why and the how.”
Noland said that’s exactly what offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly preaches: always having a plan at the line of scrimmage. Noland noted that the game is slowing down under Kelly’s coaching.
That’s one way Noland has improved since his arrival. He talked about how he’s gotten better at running progressions — both with one and two high safeties — and corner reads and calling protections.
He also pointed out that he has added more speed to the ball and gained 20 pounds, now standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds.
“It was a developmental year,” Noland said. “It was a year that was very important for me. Just getting out there and keeping my mind on the big thing, building a bond with my teammates, being myself and just competing at a high level.”
Noland had a remarkable junior season at Langston Hughes High School, where he threw for over 4,000 yards and 55 touchdowns while completing 73% of his passes en route to the 6A state title. Langston Hughes’ team was well-rounded and set the Georgia state record for most points (792) in a season.
The left-hander’s performance declined last year. His completion percentage dropped to 66.5%, he averaged 78.5 fewer passing yards per game and threw just 22 touchdowns. Nevertheless, the Elite 11 Finals participant came to college with high expectations.
When asked on Tuesday what he would have said to himself on Signing Day in December, he thought for a moment.
“I would say you just have to know that you’re coming in and you’re ready to move forward,” Noland said. “There’s going to be tough days and there’s going to be good days. So I’m just going to go through the ups and downs and stay calm. And just rely on the older guys to help me out.”
Noland added, “It wasn’t an easy thing. It’s not easy to just go out there and just be an Ohio State quarterback. You have to rely on the guys. You have to tell yourself the mental part is not easy. You just have to look at yourself in the mirror sometimes.”
Noland’s transition to Ohio State hasn’t been smooth sailing, but the most important thing is that he’s still growing there – and that he’s learned to view Columbus as a second home.
“Yeah, it definitely feels like home,” Noland said Tuesday.
