South Carolina to start former graduate assistant at QB for opener
South Carolina has found its starting quarterback.
Zeb Noland, who previously played at North Dakota State and Iowa State, will start under center when USC takes the field Saturday for its season opener against Eastern Illinois at Williams-Brice Stadium, the school announced Tuesday with the release of a preseason depth chart.
After wearing No. 25 during practices the past two weeks, Noland will also change his uniform to No. 8, the school said.
“If I do get the opportunity to start on Saturday, September 4,” Noland said last week, “I’m going to be excited and go have fun and, and just enjoy it.”
Noland concluded his career at NDSU in the spring after previously backing up current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance his first season in Fargo. After finishing at NDSU in April, the Georgia native was hired to be a graduate assistant on head coach Shane Beamer’s staff.
With just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, Beamer and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield had kicked around the idea of adding Noland to the roster in recent weeks. Noland then discussed the idea of joining the team with his father, Travis Noland — a prominent high school coach in Georgia — last week.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eligibility used during the 2020 season didn’t count toward a player’s four years of eligibility allowed under NCAA rules. Thus, Noland still has one season of eligibility remaining even after NDSU’s spring campaign.
“I told Zeb and I told the quarterbacks that he’s going to come in here and he’s going to compete like everyone else,” Beamer said last week. “And if he deserves the opportunity to play and can help us win football games, he will. And if he can’t, he won’t.”
Noland’s annointment comes after previous starter Luke Doty suffered a sprained foot when a teammate stepped on him during a recent practice. Doty is continuing to rehab from the injury, though it’s unclear when he might return to full health.
Beamer and Satterfield made clear the intention is to let Doty heal fully before re-inserting him into the lineup.
“We’re not going to do anything that puts him in danger of a lingering injury that lasts all year,” Satterfield said shortly after Doty went down. “We’re going to make sure that he is healed up before we put him out there and let him go.”
Noland beat out FCS transfer Jason Brown, freshman Colten Gauthier and walk-on Connor Jordan for the starting gig in place of Doty. Brown became the most likely candidate to earn the nod against Eastern Illinois before Noland was added to the roster.
“I just want to leave a legacy in this program and put it in a better place,” Noland said Tuesday. “Set wins and losses aside, (I want to) set the culture in a better place and that’s really why I wanted to (come back and play).”
South Carolina vs. Eastern Illinois
When: 7 p.m., Saturday
Where: Williams Brice Stadium — Columbia, SC
TV: SEC Network Plus and ESPN+
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 10:16 AM.
