Who is Zeb Noland? From Iowa State to South Carolina and everywhere in-between.

Nate Milewski

Photo: Iowa State University Athletics

Zeb Noland has known football his whole. In fact, his father, Travis Noland, is a former QB for the Appalachian State Mountaineers. After Travis finished his playing career, it was only natural for the QB to become a coach. Since then, Travis has had an exceptional coaching career, entering the 2021 season with well over 150 career coaching wins and having coached over 50 collegiate athletes.

Among these is his own son Zeb. According to 247Sports, Noland was ranked as the #60 pro-style QB in Georgia and the #123 overall player in the state. In 2015, he committed to play for his father's alma mater Appalachian State. However, Noland wasn’t committed for long. New Iowa State coach Matt Campbell soon saw Noland's film and wanted him to become a Cyclone. So, on December 21, 2015, Noland committed to Iowa State.

Noland didn't play right away, redshirting as a true freshman in 2016. Additionally, Noland made only 4 appearances for the Cyclones in 2017, throwing over 500 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, in 2018, Noland was granted more opportunities, as he threw for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Cyclones' 37-27 loss to #5 Oklahoma. However, Noland would leave the program about a month following this loss, entering the transfer portal due to a string of successful games by then freshman QB Brock Purdy.

Noland would eventually transfer to North Dakota State, a program known for its string of dominance at the FCS level throughout the 2010s. In his first season with the Bison, Noland served as the team's backup QB behind Walter Payton Award-winning Trey Lance, where the two developed a close relationship. However, once Lance left for the NFL, Noland earned the rights of the Bison's starting QB job for the 2020-21 FCS spring season. In 7 games, Noland would throw for 721 yards, 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, guiding the team to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs. Following the spring season, Noland decided to hang up the cleats while still having one more season of eligibility.

Soon after that, South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield reached out to Noland asking him to become a graduate assistant for the Gamecocks. Noland eagerly accepted, yet again following in his father’s footsteps of becoming a coach. Yet, when Gamecocks starting QB Luke Doty suffered a foot injury during a scrimmage, head coach Shane Beamer made a calling. Beamer would ask Noland to use his final year of eligibility and join the Gamecocks' QB room.

Therefore, Noland was thrusted into a QB battle against former FCS QB Jason Brown, who

had played at Saint Francis in the NEC before transferring to South Carolina. After 2 weeks of competition, Noland would earn the start against the team's season opener vs FCS opponent Eastern Illinois. Noland would go on to throw 4 touchdowns in the 1st half alone, leading the Gamecocks to a 46-0 win over EIU. This resulted in Noland being granted a 2nd start in the team's Week 2 matchup against ECU, where the Gamecocks would defeat the Pirates off of a 200-yard performance by Noland. Heading into Week 3, it is unknown if Noland will start vs the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. However, it's safe to say that Noland's story from graduate assistant to QB1 is nothing short of remarkable.