Back in the 2024 recruiting class, the Ohio State Buckeyes ended up bringing in three different quarterbacks. Two of them were transfers. Will Howard came in from Kansas State for a year and helped the Buckeyes win a national championship. Julian Sayin was the other transfer.
Sayin was a Heisman Finalist last season and could be one this season, too. Air Noland was the only high school quarterback the Buckeyes brought in. Noland has transferred twice since then, and it seems that he has lost his final chance to start as a collegiate quarterback.
Former Ohio State QB Air Noland seemingly loses starting battle at Memphis
Noland transferred to South Carolina right after the national championship in 2024. He is now at Memphis, and he has lost any chance of starting there, either. If rumors are to be believed, then he has lost the starting battle for the starting job to Marcus Stokes.
If this is true, this is a sad fall for Noland since his time with the Buckeyes. He was a very good performer in the Spring Game in his one year with the team. Other than that, it doesn't seem that he has done a whole lot. He never competed for the starting job while with the Gamecocks, either.
Had Noland stayed in Columbus, he likely wouldn't have had a shot to beat out Sayin for the starting job, either. He simply isn't as good as he looked coming out of high school, when he was a four-star recruit. If he has truly lost the starting job to Stokes, who has never attempted a pass, that is damning for his future.
At this point, Noland is likely never going to start as a quarterback. With the new rules giving players five years, he will have a couple of years to try to salvage his career. However, if he can't start at Memphis, where will he really have a shot to play?
Ohio State looks set at quarterback for the foreseeable future
While Noland clearly wouldn't have been the answer for Ohio State, it looks like they are set at the quarterback position for some time. Sayin could still return next season if he doesn't have an elite year in 2026. If he doesn't return, the Buckeyes have a few solid options to start next year.
Tavien St. Clair is widely expected to be the starter, although he's still battling Luke Fahey for the backup job. Either of those players could potentially start in 2027. Brady Edmunds is coming in as a true freshman next season, and he could theoretically fight for that job, too.
If Ryan Day doesn't end up liking any of those options, he could always go into the portal to get someone. Day has had a very good track record of getting QBs in the portal. He has brought in Justin Fields, Howard, and Sayin from the Transfer Portal. Even if the high school recruits haven't always panned out, he has made up for that with his work in the portal.
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