Ohio State's quarterback signee from the 2024 recruiting class is in the transfer portal after one year with the Buckeyes.
After playing zero snaps in his lone season with the Buckeyes, Air Noland will be looking for a new collegiate destination to continue his college career, officially entering the portal on Monday.
BREAKING: Ohio State True Freshman QB Air Noland has entered the Transfer Portal, he tells @on3sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 16, 2024
The 62 220 QB will have all 4 years of eligibility remaining
Was ranked as the No. 5 QB in the 24 Class (On3 Industry)https://t.co/R1malTeLSO pic.twitter.com/iKn4khMZyb
The fifth-highest-rated member of the Buckeyes' 2024 class, Noland came to Columbus as a four-star prospect ranked 56th overall in the 247Sports composite, considered the nation's fourth-best quarterback and the No. 8 player out of Georgia.
Noland had an accomplished career at Langston Hughes High School, leading the Panthers to a Class 6A State Championship in 2022. Named a MaxPreps Junior All-American for his performance that year, Noland completed 73% of his passes for 4,095 yards and 55 touchdowns, one short of the most ever in a season for a Georgia high school quarterback.
When Noland signed his National Letter of Intent to Ohio State on Dec. 20, he looked like a prime candidate to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback of the future. However, the Buckeyes dove into the transfer portal just one month later and came up with the No. 1 quarterback in Noland's class, five-star prospect Julian Sayin.
Sayin quickly climbed up the depth chart to become Ohio State’s No. 3 quarterback this season and is considered the frontrunner to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback next year, leaving no clear path to the starting job for Noland, especially with another five-star quarterback coming in 2025 signee Tavien St. Clair.
Noland flashed some dual-threat playmaking ability in the Buckeyes’ spring game last April, finishing 5-of-7 passing for 47 yards and an interception and rushing five times for 42 yards. He never got a chance to play during the regular season, however, as the Buckeyes’ fifth-string quarterback behind Will Howard, Devin Brown, Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz.
Noland still has four years of eligibility after redshirting this season and will likely have plenty of suitors in the portal. He had three dozen offers out of high school including the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas A&M, among others.
Noland becomes the second Ohio State quarterback to enter the portal this month, joining Brown, who remains with the Buckeyes as their backup quarterback for the College Football Playoff despite entering the portal.
Ohio State is now set to lose at least three of its five scholarship quarterbacks from this season with Will Howard exhausting his eligibility, setting up the possibility that Ohio State could need to pursue a transfer quarterback for depth next season.
