Closer Look: Plenty Of Potential For Quarterback Air Noland

Air Noland (6-3 215) was the No. 4 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite. He was ranked the No. 56 player overall and the No. 8 player in the state of Georgia. Rivals ranked Noland a five-star prospect and the No. 31 player overall. He signed with Ohio State over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Texas A&M, Oregon, Miami, and many others.

Noland attended Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia where he threw for 4,095 yards and 55 touchdowns as a junior and led his school to a 6A State Championship. As a senior, Noland completed two-thirds of his passes, throwing for 2,140 yards and 22 touchdowns in 11 games. He threw for over 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in his high school career.

What To Like

The first thing a quarterback needs is the arm strength to make the kind of throws that can stretch the field. Air Noland can do that. In the clips below is a collection of deep throws from Noland’s junior season. They show not just the arm strength that is necessary but also the accuracy needed to put the arm strength to proper use.

Noland has the mobility to move around in the pocket or beyond. He can keep plays alive or also be involved in the running game. Noland is an incredibly experienced high school quarterback who has won a state championship. He has been the kind of leader that college coaches look for as well.

Air Noland has the arm strength to get the ball deep. pic.twitter.com/wqfo7azLY4
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 5, 2024

The Potential

The throwing windows in college are a lot smaller than they are in high school, but Air Noland has been using the smaller windows for a while now. His ball placement was elite in high school, as were his targets. Together, they scored a ton of points and made defenses look very bad.

The arm strength is there. The accuracy and mobility are apparent as well. In the clips below, the accuracy is put on display. The football is placed where only the receiver can get to it. That is the kind of accuracy a team can win with, and it is the kind of accuracy that receivers can depend on.

Here's some elite ball placement from Air Noland. pic.twitter.com/20KZsaFIVw
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 5, 2024

The Expectations

Air Noland enrolled early and was one of five scholarship quarterbacks for the Buckeyes in the spring. All five remain with the program today, which means playing time for Noland this year is going to be very difficult to come by. Noland was running fifth in the spring, which is typical for a true freshman at Ohio State.

Noland does have four games he can play in and keep his redshirt, but the depth chart does not favor that happening right now. That’s not a bad sign for Noland, nor is it an indication of future results. It is simply the reality of the QB room. The last two Buckeye quarterbacks to hoist national title trophies did not play as true freshmen and were not equipped to do so. It’s normal.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has said in the past that some of the expectations for the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback is to play well enough to be a Heisman candidate and a first-round NFL draft pick. That is part of the standard that Noland will need to achieve in his quest to eventually start at Ohio State.

Whether it's a run option or pass option, Air Noland looks comfortable making the reads. pic.twitter.com/GqjX6y5rlb
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 5, 2024

The Bottom Line

For anybody to start at quarterback for the Buckeyes, the climb starts early and doesn’t ever really stop. For Air Noland, his path toward a starting job in 2025 and beyond is already underway. There will be ups and downs, but each of those outcomes needs to be a learning experience.

In the clips immediately above and below, Noland shows a high comfort level in both run and pass reads. Whether it is a run-pass option or a run-run option, Noland is sufficiently patient with his reads and can take advantage of the defense’s reaction.

Noland has the necessary tools to eventually be a starting quarterback at Ohio State. As with all quarterbacks in today’s college football, however, patience and opportunity will be just as important as the talent and skill set.

Air Noland was 5-7 passing for 47 yards with an INT on a desperation pass at the end of the Ohio State spring game this year. He rushed for 42 yards on five attempts. pic.twitter.com/Rot4TgihDR
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 5, 2024

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