Zebuliah Noland (born August 16, 1997) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who works as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

coach for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

and

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

, before drawing media attention upon being added to the Gamecocks' roster, where he was named their starting quarterback, despite being a graduate assistant with the team.

Early life

Noland, the son of Travis and Julie Noland, was born in

Watkinsville, Georgia Watkinsville is the largest town and county seat of Oconee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,896. It served as the seat of Clarke County until 1872 when the county seat of that county was m ...

. He played high school football at

Oconee County High School Oconee County High School is a public secondary school in Watkinsville, Georgia, United States. It is a public high school that hosts grades 9–12. It is one of two high schools in the Oconee County Public Schools district. Its mascot is the War ...

under his father, a former

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

quarterback. He earned all-region honors twice, and led the team to their first regional championship since 2004. Rated the No. 60 pro-style quarterback in his class by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

, Noland received offers from Toledo,

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

FIU Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida ...

, and

. He ultimately committed to Appalachian State on June 6, 2015, but later rescinded that commitment upon receiving an offer from

. He signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

and committed to Iowa State on December 21, 2015, and formally enrolled less than a month later.

College career

Iowa State

After sitting out as a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Noland saw his first action at Iowa State the following year. He played in four contests for the Cyclones in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, including a start in

's win against Baylor. He saw further game time in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, playing in five games for Iowa State. Following the conclusion of the season, Noland transferred to

North Dakota State

Arriving in Fargo as a redshirt junior, Noland competed for the starting role with

Trey Lance Trey Lance (born May 9, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Dakota State, where he received the Walter Payton and Jerry Rice Awards as ...

and Noah Sanders, ultimately earning the second spot on the depth chart behind Lance. He made eight appearances for the Bison in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

; North Dakota State would go on to win the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

that season. Following Lance's departure for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, Noland ascended to the starting role, and made seven starts for North Dakota State in the spring 2021 season (delayed from fall 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

). He led the team in total offense and finished with a 5–2 record as a starter for the Bison. Head coach

Matt Entz Matthew John Entz (born October 9, 1972) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at North Dakota State University. Entz took over from the departing Chris Klieman after Klieman led the 2018 North Dakota State Bison football ...

announced Noland's departure from the program on April 25, 2021, with Noland reported to have taken a Power Five coaching job.

South Carolina

In May 2021, Noland was hired as a

coach at

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He received media attention after being added to the roster and promoted to the starting quarterback position, despite being a member of the coaching staff, following an injury to starter Luke Doty in practice. He made his debut for the Gamecocks on September 4, 2021, throwing for 121 yards and four touchdowns in

's 46–0 season-opening win against

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

. On September 18, against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Noland suffered a hand injury on the Gamecocks' first possession of the game, and was replaced by Doty in what was a 40–13 blowout for Georgia. On October 16, against Vanderbilt, Noland replaced Doty and led the Gamecocks on a game-winning drive in a 21–20 win. Noland was named the starter again, after it was confirmed that Doty had reinjured his foot, ending his season. On October 23, against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, Noland was benched in the fourth quarter for Jason Brown, and it was later revealed that he would undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Although he hoped to make it in time to start against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Noland missed the next three games, and replaced Jason Brown in the fourth quarter of a shutout loss to Clemson. Noland made his final appearance for the Gamecocks at the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl, and although wide receiver Dakereon Joyner was favored over him, he still managed to complete three pass attempts for 82 yards and a touchdown. In 2022, Noland returned to his previous role as a graduate assistant coach.

College statistics

Personal life

Noland holds a degree in university studies from

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

, graduating in December 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noland, Zeb 1997 births Living people American football quarterbacks Iowa State Cyclones football players North Dakota State Bison football players South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches South Carolina Gamecocks football players People from Watkinsville, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American sportsmen