After losing a commitment from Dylan Raiola in December, Ryan Day and Corey Dennis have their quarterback in the 2024 class.
After his visit to Columbus March 31-April 1, 2024 four-star quarterback Air Noland announced his commitment to Ohio State Saturday over finalists Alabama, Clemson, Arkansas, Miami, Texas A&M and Oregon.
“Coach Day, coach Dennis and coach (Brian) Hartline, the three-headed snake at Ohio State, just speak for itself,” Noland told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong during his commitment stream. “They develop quarterbacks, Black quarterbacks into an NFL type of caliber quarterback in the quarterback-oriented offense that they have. Of course Jelani (Thurman) is up there, so I have a teammate of mine up there. The people around Ohio State, they are very welcoming.”
Noland, standing at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, is the No. 8 quarterback and No. 84 prospect in the 2024 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Noland, out of Langston Hughes High School in Fairburn, Georgia, was teammates with Ohio State tight end Jelani Thurman, who joined the Buckeyes as an early enrollee in the 2023 class.
“He doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” Langston Hughes football coach Daniel Williams recently told The Dispatch. “He learns from his mistakes and is the ultimate competitor.”
When he arrived at Ohio State March 31, Noland did not have an Ohio State offer, but left with one after his unofficial visit.
For a Langston Hughes team that, in 2022, finished the season 15-0 with a state championship, Noland, a left-hander, threw for 4,095 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and four interceptions as a junior, completing a career-high 73.1% of his pass attempts per MaxPreps. Noland added five rushing touchdowns.
Even during Raiola’s time as an Ohio State commit, Williams said Dennis and the Buckeyes continued to communicate with him about Noland.
“I saw teammates pushing each other,” Noland said when asked what impresses him about Ohio State. “Everyone has one goal at Ohio State and that’s to make it to the next level. And coach Day preaches that to his kids at Ohio State. It’s a brotherhood. It’s a family. They are all one on and off the field.”
As an Ohio State commit, Williams said Noland is ready for that next level.
“He understands what’s in store for him and kind of what he’s worked all his life to do, and he understands where he is now,” Daniels said. “So when it comes to him having that ‘aha moment,’ he’s not had that ‘aha moment.’ He’s just continued to work as he’s always known.”
Ohio State has not had an in-state quarterback commitment since Joe Burrow in the Buckeyes’ 2015 recruiting class.
Noland joins a class with four offensive linemen — Ian Moore, Deontae Armstrong, Devontae Armstrong and Marc Nave — and the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2024 class: Jeremiah Smith.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football adds 2024 4-star quarterback Air Noland
