Zeb Noland was supposed to be a coach. He might just win USC’s starting QB job
Zeb Noland sat in the locker room at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas, slipped off his shoulder pads, cut off his tape and glared into the floor.
North Dakota State had just watched its 2020 spring season end in a 24-20 loss to Sam Houston State. Noland was just weeks away from landing a spot on Shane Beamer’s staff as a graduate assistant.
For the first time in nearly 15 years, his shoulder pads and tape would stay off.
“It hit hard,” Noland told reporters Tuesday. “I didn’t want to leave and say goodbye to all my teammates.”
Fast-forward six months and Noland stands at the front of the team meeting room at the Long Family Football Operations Center in Columbia as a legitimate threat to be the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback as Luke Doty continues to nurse a sprained foot.
Noland fielded questions about what he learned at NDSU and Iowa State before that, his relationship with first round NFL Draft pick and Bison teammate Trey Lance and how he landed at South Carolina.
Most pressing, though, was whether Noland would be prepared to play on Sept. 4 against Eastern Illinois should Doty not heal quickly enough to play the season opener. He left little doubt.
“If I do get the opportunity to start on Saturday, September 4,” Noland said, “I’m going to be excited and go have fun and, and just enjoy it.”
That Noland has landed smack dab in the middle of a late-August starting quarterback battle in Columbia is as absurd as it is fate.
In a college career that began at Iowa State, bounced to NDSU and is now nearing a conclusion at South Carolina, Noland has spent ample time around some of the sport’s best signal-callers.
Brock Purdy — who’s entering his fourth season as the starting quarterback in Ames — beat out Noland for the starting nod at Iowa State.
Lance, who was taken third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s NFL draft, started Noland’s first year at NDSU. He also counts Lance as one of his best friends.
The pair chat regularly. Noland said Lance is always the first to call him on midnight of his birthday. He then returns the favor in May for Lance.
Noland and Lance even attended former NDSU quarterback Noah Sanders’ wedding together in May.
“Zeb and Trey were best friends,” former Bison quarterback Logan Graetz told The State. “Those dudes are as close you can be.”
The son of a coach and one of three sons to play college football, Noland has been lauded for his football IQ. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield told Beamer that Noland might be the smartest quarterback he’d ever talked to after their first conversation last spring.
During his time at Iowa State and NDSU, Noland earned a reputation as an ace with passing concepts and play designs. Beamer and Satterfield saw a young man who could make an instant impact on the staff.
“The first thing that popped into my head when I heard or read he was getting this opportunity was, ‘Well, I’m sure he probably knows the offense already better than any quarterback in the room,’ ” Sanders told The State. “He truly is a football junkie. You knew he was going to be a coach at some point.”
Satterfield and Beamer joked over the summer that Noland might be needed at some point given the year of eligibility he still had in his pocket. Now less than two weeks from the season opener, there’s a chance Noland will lead the USC offense into the Beamer era.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Beamer said he wasn’t yet ready to make that call as Noland would’ve only received four days worth of practice. He then described the next few days as “crucial” in regard to Noland’s chance at the job.
Jason Brown, who Beamer noted had his best week of practice since arriving at South Carolina from St. Francis (Pennsylvania), also remains in the mix, as does freshman Colten Gauthier.
“I‘m pleased with where we at the quarterback position right now,” Beamer said Tuesday. “Continuing to get better like all the positions.”
Lance, like Noland, is in a quarterback battle of his own with incumbent 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo. The intention in San Francisco was to draft Lance and let him sit behind Garappolo before turning him loose in an NFL offense. Instead, the battle has evolved into daily tabloid fodder in the Bay Area.
Noland is now channeling his own inner-Lance in his workmanlike mentality. Noland explained Tuesday how Lance would want to fight when he’d make mention Lance was only months way from a multi-million dollar NFL contract. It wasn’t in Lance’s nature to go gaga over potential riches. It was in the color-coded notes, or matching weights with Noland during their workouts that he found solace.
“He’s very, very humble and he’s very detailed in everything he does,” Noland said. “Why wouldn’t you want to be like a guy like that?”
Beamer said Tuesday he’d have a clearer picture of the quarterback situation by the end of the week. Noland has as good a chance as anyone to earn that nod.
Tuesday, Noland reflected on that afternoon at Sam Houston State. He wasn’t supposed to ever put his shoulder pads back on. South Carolina is giving him one last chance.
“I don’t know what sports everybody in here played, but the last time you did it, you’ll never forget,” Noland said. “I had a bad taste in my mouth after Sam Houston State just because I wanted us to be successful. ... I just want to leave a legacy in this program and put it in a better place.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
