Making the Case: Four-star QB Air Noland
Another top quarterback is coming off the board soon as the dominoes continue to fall at that position.
Four-star quarterback Air Noland from Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes plans to announce his commitment on April 8, with Alabama, Miami, Clemson, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Oregon making his top seven.
In today’s Making the Case, experts from around the Rivals network make an argument for a particular school and then national recruiting director Adam Gorney issues his verdict as to where he sees Noland ending up.
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ALABAMA
Alabama’s recent record of landing top quarterback could continue as Noland announces his decision. Even with five-star Julian Sayin already in the fold, Alabama has shown in recent cycles that it isn't afraid to add multiple signal-callers in the right situation.
While Noland has quickly emerged as one of the top remaining uncommitted QBs in the 2024 class, it seems likely that he will land at one of the other finalists. - Russell Johnson, TideIllustrated.com
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MIAMI
Air Noland has picked up some steam lately with the Miami Hurricanes. The four-star signal-caller is a priority for Miami, and the staff has been successful in convincing prospects during visits. The fact that Noland decided to drop a top schools list and announcement date while in Coral Gables bodes well for the Hurricanes.
Noland loves coach Mario Cristobal, the environment and what the school can offer him academically. The Georgia native wants to study kinesiology, and Miami has one the best health programs in the country among Power Five schools.
He also already has a former high school teammate in Joshua Horton at Miami. My guess is that he commits to the Hurricanes. - Marcus Benjamin, CanesCounty.com
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CLEMSON
Clemson's quarterback pedigree resonates with Noland, thus the combination of program stature and proximity put the Tigers in immediate contention despite offering only earlier this month. His time frame has consistently been April, so we're not convinced the timing of his decision date announcement necessarily reflects Miami being the choice. But here's believing more details do seem to still point in the Hurricanes' favor. - Paul Strelow, TigerIllustrated.com
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ARKANSAS
Arkansas doesn't have a quarterback committed in the 2024 class, and Noland came away from his recent visit to Fayetteville pleasantly surprised. Starting quarterback KJ Jefferson will be gone after this season, so the competition will be open, though the job will likely go to a veteran such as North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell.
However, the Razorbacks added new offensive coordinator Dan Enos in January, and he's still trying to figure out his priority guys. There is no tape out on what kind of system Enos will run during his second stint in Fayetteville, so Noland might not want to take a chance on Enos.
All of that could be paired with the fact that the Razorbacks have Criswell as virtually the starter in waiting and true freshman four-star Malachi Singleton seems to draw plenty of praise from head coach Sam Pittman. - Mason Choate, HawgBeat.com
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OHIO STATE
Ohio State has been very involved in the recruitment of Noland since seeing him play last season while the Buckeyes recruited tight end Jelani Thurman. Ryan Day and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis visited Noland in January and spent time evaluating him in person but left that visit without offering him.
Now, with Noland’s first trip to Columbus on tap for the April 1 weekend, it’ll be interesting to see if the evaluation has changed or if the circumstances – a shrinking number of uncommitted quarterbacks – force them into action.
Noland loves the Ohio State offense and the Buckeyes' development plan for quarterbacks, and his arm, athleticism and personality would all fit in perfectly in Columbus. But none of that will matter if the offer doesn’t come this weekend. - Jeremy Birmingham, DottingTheEyes.com
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TEXAS A&M
The Aggies have a few things going in this one: They were in early, they have established strong relationships and they have the commitment of a close friend. Noland clearly thinks highly of Jimbo Fisher, and fellow four-star Debron Gatling, a wideout, is committed to the Aggies. The fact that his last stop was to return to College Station before committing somewhere could be telling. - Mark Passwaters, AggieYell.com
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OREGON
The Ducks were forced to reshuffle late in the 2023 cycle when five-star Dante Moore backed away from his pledge, but they were still able to land Rivals100 quarterback Austin Novosad. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein has had more time to assess Oregon’s options for 2024, and the program is in play with several key targets. Noland is new to the mix, however, with the Ducks only offering him March 9.
Stein wants his quarterbacks to be able to attack the field in a variety of ways, and Noland’s skill set and knack for making big plays in the vertical game certainly make him a good fit for Oregon’s new offense. He has quickly become a priority at the position, but Noland has yet to visit Eugene. Until that happens it’s difficult to see the Ducks as a legitimate threat to land him, even with the logical NIL component with a name like “Air” at Oregon. - Matt Moreno, DuckSportsAuthority.com
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THE VERDICT
This is a difficult one because Noland’s recruitment could still go in a few directions, but pending the Ohio State visit I still see this going in one of two directions: A commitment to either Miami or Texas A&M.
The Aggies got him on campus over the last few days, coach Jimbo Fisher spent a ton of time with him and he has some connections to the school, so Texas A&M is definitely a leading contender in his recruitment.
But my bet is that Miami leads right now. He decided to drop a top list and commitment date during his time there recently. Coach Mario Cristobal and new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson laid out a compelling case and the Hurricanes don’t have a quarterback already committed in this class, while the Aggies ... do.
It’s close, but my pick is The U. - Adam Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director