Air Noland Commits on Saturday. Where does Clemson Stand?
It's the time of year when the big-name quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class are starting to make their final decisions and Air Noland, a 4-star out of Langston Hughes in Georgia, is the next in line. Noland will commit tomorrow at 8:45 PM, live on the 247Sports Youtube channel. Many big-time programs are looking for a fresh injection of stars into their QB rooms this offseason and no one wants to be left out in the dust so the 4-star from Fairburn, Georgia certainly has his pick of solid options to choose from.
Air Noland - one of the best names in this class - narrowed his options down to 7 schools recently: Alabama, Arkansas, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas A&M. So where does Clemson stand amongst all of those options? According to 247Sports' Brandon Marcello, "If you're Alabama, if you're Ohio State, if you're Clemson then you have a reason to feel very good about where you stand." Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports said there are a few things that separate the favorites.
Ohio State, like Clemson, lost out on Jadyn Davis last week when he committed to Michigan. It seems as if they have turned their focus now toward Noland and have grabbed some "late momentum" in the process. “Everything you need as a quarterback, as a student-athlete is all here at Ohio State,” Noland said in an interview with 247Sports. “They have the right people around the student-athletes here, especially the football players and especially the quarterbacks. Everything you can ask for is at Ohio State, especially from a quarterback standpoint."
Air Noland, the No. 7 quarterback in the class of 2024, on a visit to Clemson.
That momentum absolutely doesn't guarantee they will be his choice, however. Alabama was the school that received the last visit and everyone knows how good of a closer Nick Saban is. “Great!” Noland said of his experience in that same interview. “I enjoyed it, sitting down and talking with Coach Saban and Coach Rees. To get an offer from Coach Saban and the University of Alabama meant a lot to me. I felt very welcomed in Tuscaloosa. The interaction with Coach Dooley, Coach Gillespie, Coach Chapman, Coach Saban, the vibe I got was very welcoming. I felt very great walking out of the building. The culture, the coaches, the players, the NFL talent that comes through and comes out of the building,” Noland said.
Finally, to Clemson. They are very much still in this and had the opportunity to set the bar for the rest of the schools that Air would eventually visit afterward. The first visit is sometimes hard to beat for a recruit and that's exactly what Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney is hoping for tomorrow. “It was great,” Noland said. “Coach Dabo Swinney, Coach Riley, Coach Tajh (Boyd), a lot of people on the staff they love me and like the person I am off the field. They love my circle, I had my mom, grandmother, and sister with me. They loved them to death and had fun with them. My sister was hanging out with some of the coaching staff’s kids. That shows Clemson is very family-oriented and the culture is different. What stood out to me is a lot of former players are on the Clemson staff and that shows me that Coach Dabo Swinney loves his people and cares for his people and players."
One could easily read into those quotes and believe he could choose any of those schools, or maybe the kid from Langston Hughes will surprise all of us tomorrow. Either way, the drama will be over late tomorrow evening.