The Ohio State football team is currently without one of its quarterbacks

That loaded Ohio State football quarterback room isn’t quite as loaded right now. True freshman Air Noland is currently at home in Georgia.

Bucknuts is quoting a source within the Ohio State football program who said Noland is not with the team for personal reasons. It is not known when he will return to the Buckeyes, but the source feels he will be in Georgia for a while. Noland has the full backing of Ryan Day and is expected to join the program again at some point.

From a football perspective, this is not a blow to the Buckeyes. Noland was going to be fourth or fifth on the quarterback depth chart. He signed with the Buckeyes during the early period in December as the number seven player at the position. A very good performance in the Spring Game led many to believe he was ahead of fellow true freshman and Alabama transfer Justin Sayin.

But Bucknuts’ source in the OSU program said that Sayin was by far the better quarterback throughout the spring. Noland’s absence will certainly slow his development, but it will not have an effect on the Buckeyes’ quarterback situation.

From a personal perspective, you want Air Noland to take all the time needed to work through any issues he may be having. Ryan Day and his wife are very big proponents of mental health awareness, so there will be no pressure from the OSU head coach to make a return until Noland feels he is ready. Regardless of where Noland may fit on the depth chart, the most important thing is he properly takes care of himself.

Because of the situation, I don’t want to get into this too much, but the elephant in the room needs to be addressed: is this the beginning of the end of Air Noland’s time as a Buckeye? Right now, I’m leaning toward him not returning. I can see the combination of his personal problems, plus the presence of Sayin (the country’s top recruit), along with the impending arrival of five-star Tavien St. Clair in the next recruiting class, causing Noland to enter the transfer portal.

The sincere hope is Air Noland is able to work through his problems and have a very productive college football career with the Buckeyes or another school.

Edit: It turns out that Bucknuts had it wrong and Noland is actually with the program. That's good to hear. I hope it stays that way because he's a very talented quarterback.