Former Cyclone Zeb Noland joins South Carolina QB room

Sep 29, 2018; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Zeb Noland (4) runs for a first down against the TCU Horned Frogs defense during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

After a brief foray into the coaching ranks, former Iowa State quarterback Zeb Noland has returned to the field at the Power 5 level.

Noland has been added to the roster and is going through practices at South Carolina after he was initially hired as an offensive graduate assistant within the program. That news came courtesy of Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer after the team’s presumed starting quarterback, Luke Doty, suffered a foot injury in practice late last week.

“He’s going to compete like everyone else,” Beamer told The Charlotte Observer. “If he deserves the opportunity to play and can help us win football games, he will. And if he can’t, he won’t.”

Noland, who appeared in nine games, starting five, as a Cyclone during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, last played for the Bison in the spring. He completed just under 50 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and six interceptions after taking over for former NDSU star Trey Lance, who is now with the San Francisco 49ers.

While at Iowa State, Noland completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 1,255 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He took over as the team’s starting quarterback for four games in 2018 after Kyle Kempt was injured in the season-opening loss to Iowa, but was ultimately relieved of the role by true freshman Brock Purdy after the offense struggled to find its footing in a 14-7 loss to TCU and early in the team’s game against Oklahoma State.

Noland left Ames shortly after Purdy’s emergence as a future star, and obviously, as Purdy has become the greatest statistical quarterback in program history and the Cyclones enter the 2021 season with sky-high expectations and a top-10 preseason ranking, that decision has worked out for Matt Campbell and Co. Meanwhile, Noland has taken the long road back to the Power 5 level in an unorthodox way.

The Watkinsville, Ga. native has one season of eligibility left.