‘Gamecock for life’ Zeb Noland preps for last game at QB. He wants a future at USC

Zeb Noland called it an “opportunity of a lifetime” to join Shane Beamer’s staff at South Carolina as a graduate assistant in May.

What he didn’t know is that he’d eventually be using his last year of college football eligibility to suit up for the Gamecocks at quarterback in six games this season.

Now that his days in a jersey are whittling down to the single digits, Noland said he wants his future to stay in Columbia.

“There’s no other place I’d like to be,” Noland said in a pre-bowl press conference. “I’m a Gamecock for life now, and I take that to heart. ... My goal is to come back and whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do.”

Noland said he’s hoping to embody former South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw, a Gamecock great who never lost in Williams-Brice Stadium as a starter from 2011-13. Shaw returned to USC’s staff in 2020 and is the current director of player relations.

But first, Noland will be South Carolina’s starting quarterback once more in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30 against North Carolina, USC’s first bowl game since 2018.

Noland hasn’t started a game since the Gamecocks’ blowout loss on the road at Texas A&M on Oct. 23, after which he underwent a right meniscus procedure. He saw the field again in the second half of South Carolina’s loss to Clemson in the regular-season finale.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield gave high praise for Noland’s ability to move from graduate assistant coach back to quarterback after Noland thought his on-field days had ended with his last stop at North Dakota State.

“Just how impressive, I mean that’s hard,” Satterfield said. “Like he just finished playing, but to be able to flip from, ‘I’m going to be a coach’ to be a player, to have to acclimate himself into the locker room, for guys to trust him that he’s not a coach, that he’s actually a player, to getting back in shape, to playing quarterback in the SEC. That’s really, really tough.”

Noland, who completed 56% of his passes for 608 yards, six touchdowns and one interception in six appearances this year, played a key role in South Carolina’s early wins.

Satterfield said he was thankful to have Noland, especially when he came in for the final drive against Vanderbilt. Down 20-14 with less than two minutes to go, Noland stepped in for Luke Doty on South Carolina’s game-winning drive, completing five passes for 75 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.

“I’ll remember him forever, just the mental and physical toughness that it took for him to do what he’s done,” Satterfield said. “He’s the difference in a lot of games that we have won, just having his presence out there, and having the ability to push the ball down the field against Vanderbilt in two-minute to win the game there at the end. (I’m) so grateful. If they ever do a movie, it would be a nice one.”

As he gears up for his final snaps on the field, Noland said he’s feeling healthy and ready to go in the bowl.

“I think the biggest thing for me is just sending off the seniors that have been here for a long time the right way,” Noland said. “(We want to) set the program in the right direction for the future, set the standard, and we’re gonna abide by that each year.”

What could’ve been a tough decision between Noland or Jason Brown getting the start at QB became clearer when Brown, who had started the last four games this season, opted to enter the transfer portal last week. Brown’s announcement game just days after South Carolina added former five-star quarterback Spencer Rattler from Oklahoma for the 2022 season.

“It’s kind of hard,” Noland said of Brown’s transfer decision. “It doesn’t matter who’s coming or who’s going, those guys are my friends. They’re my teammates and guys that I enjoy being with. I think that’s the hardest thing. ... But I know Jason. I know he’s gonna do well.”

Noland also has high hopes for Rattler at South Carolina, and said the two of them are likely more similar than one would think.

“I mean, I wasn’t a Heisman candidate going into the season, so he’s got the upper hand on that,” Noland said. “We probably are different people, but I guarantee we’re a lot alike in the same ways (with) the demands we want met, holding people to a high standard. ... Even if you don’t score points or throw touchdowns, you can be a good quarterback in a room anywhere, and there’s examples in every program, so I know he’ll do a good job of that.”

Noland has a forward-facing view of the program heading into his last game. He expressed strong belief in the Gamecocks’ offensive line continuing to improve next season and said he watched the team make strides in each game of 2021, despite their quarterback injuries and personnel movement around the offense.

Noland remained grateful for the opportunity he was given at South Carolina. He took a sentimental approach to his final season as a quarterback, and his appreciation for the Gamecocks was paramount as he readies for the last game of his playing career.

“The wins and losses, at the end of the day, 50 years from now, don’t matter to me,” Noland said. “I think it’s the friends you make and the journey being around all these coaches, the fans, doing the Carolina walk, all the little things are what I’m going to cherish. I can’t be more thankful.”

South Carolina’s next game in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Who: South Carolina (6-6) vs. North Carolina (6-6)

Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

When: Dec. 30 at 11:30 a.m.

Watch: ESPN