COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the second time in a week, Zeb Noland was at the podium to answer questions from reporters.
On Tuesday, Noland was named the starter at quarterback for Saturday's season opener against Eastern Illinois. This announcement was part of a wild ride for Noland who arrived in Columbia as a graduate assistant.
A former quarterback at Iowa State and North Dakota State, Noland had come to South Carolina after his spring season at NDSU had concluded. But after a few months serving as a graduate assistant coach, Noland realized that he wanted to give his playing career one more shot, a thought that entered Noland's mind long before Luke Doty was injured.
Noland says the nagging feeling of wanting to pick up a helmet again reached its peak in a preseason scrimmage when as a graduate assistant, Noland was in charge of signalling in the plays. But Noland realized he wasn't quite ready to call it a career at quarterback and now, Noland has gone from a late addition to the roster to the week one starter against Eastern Illinois University.