Could Ohio State football be in danger of losing 4-star QB Air Noland?

If there’s one thing that Ohio State football has done well over the years other than dominating the Big Ten, it’s been recruiting elite quarterbacks.

In recent years, Ohio State has fielded quarterbacks such as Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, and CJ Stroud. And all of those guys have been Heisman contenders. Ahead of the 2023 season, the Buckeyes have Devin Brown and Kyle McCord, who were both top-50 recruits in their respective classes, battling out for the starting job.

Even the 2024 class has a top-50 prospect committed but it previously had five-star Dylan Raiola as part of the group before he decommitted and eventually picked Georgia.

Air Noland was the “backup plan” even though he’s the No. 47 prospect in the class and the seventh-best quarterback, according to 247Sports.

But it looks like Ohio State may have to fight to keep him.

Ohio State football QB recruit looking at other visits

Following the decommitment of Raiola and the news about five-star Jeremiah Smith potentially joining him at Georgia, fans are a little on edge when it comes to commits taking other visits.

According to On3’s Jeremy Johnson, Noland is “considering a few visits of his own” during his recruitment.

It could just be him enjoying the process but maybe it’s more than that. Maybe the news of Smith taking a visit to Georgia after Raiola committed to the Bulldogs scared him.

And then there was this report that came out. Not sure about the truthfulness here, but there seems to be at least some smoke about the teams mentioned.

Oregon and LSU would be interesting fits. The Ducks would be losing Bo Nix after this season and the Tigers are losing Jayden Daniels. There would be an open competition for the starting job at both schools. It would make sense.

Do I think Ohio State will lose Noland? I’d be surprised given that Ohio State has produced some really good quarterbacks over the years and the NFL would surely come calling if he reached his potential, but if Smith has eyes elsewhere, that might lead to Noland doing the same.

Right now, I’ll say that Ohio State is in a fine spot and visits are part of the process, but I’ve see crazier things happen in recruiting before.