How Connor Shaw being ‘huge mentor’ for Zeb Noland helped QB relax in Gamecock debut
Zeb Noland’s first big play as South Carolina quarterback wasn’t an explosive pass.
Faced with third-and-9 in the Gamecocks’ second possession, Noland scrambled 10 yards to earn South Carolina’s initial first down against Eastern Illinois.
Remind you of anyone?
Noland told reporters after the Gamecocks’ 46-0 win that Gamecock great Connor Shaw, who never lost a game in Williams-Brice Stadium and was recently selected for the USC Athletics Hall of Fame, has been a “huge mentor” of his in Columbia.
Shaw, who put up 6,074 passing yards and 56 touchdowns from 2010 to 2014 at South Carolina, had ability with his legs as well. He rushed for nearly 1,700 yards in four years and totaled 17 touchdowns on the ground.
Shaw has remained close to the Gamecocks’ program, working as director of player development in 2020 and quarterbacks coach for the last season’s final three games. He remained in an administrative role on Shane Beamer’s staff and now serves as director of football relations.
Shaw has cultivated a close relationship with Noland, who initially joined South Carolina’s staff as a graduate assistant coach this summer before moving to an on-field role at quarterback following Luke Doty’s foot injury in fall camp.
“I’ve always really respected what he did,” Noland said about Shaw. “He came here, and he left a legacy like no other.”
Noland has at least known of Shaw for years, and the two have a lot in common. His father, Travis Noland, coached against Shaw when he was at Flowery Branch High School (Georgia). Shaw played for his father, Lee, at Flowery Branch. Zeb Noland played for his father a few years later at Oconee County High School.
“I really lean on him for guidance,” Noland said. “Because he’s a good Christian man. I can talk to him one-on-one, and we relate really well to each other.”
Noland, who started South Carolina’s first game of 2021, played at both Iowa State and North Dakota State before landing on the Gamecocks’ roster three weeks ago. He finished his first game in Columbia with a career-high four touchdowns, going 13-of-22 for 121 yards. He threw no interceptions and made few overall mistakes, a trait Shaw embodied en route to becoming the program’s all-time winningest quarterback.
“He makes me embrace the little things,” Noland said of Shaw, like “running down and getting the student section hyped when you run out of the tunnel. He just prepared me for all the moments he knew were coming. I think that’s why I didn’t have many nerves and got to relax.”
