A new era has begun in Memphis as head coach Ryan Silverfield made the move to Arkansas this offseason. The Tigers moved swiftly upon losing Silverfield landing on former Marshall and Southern Miss head coach Charles Huff. Landing Huff may be an upgrade for Memphis' hopes of winning the American which Silverfield was never able to accomplish as Huff brought a Sun Belt title to Marshall.
While Charles Huff takes over a bigger program, he's going to need to quickly put the pieces together to make this a great roster. At quarterback, Huff has to rebuild the room as Brendon Lewis is out of eligibility and AJ Hill transferred with Silverfield to Arkansas.
Air Noland is the elite talent that can bring Memphis back to the top
Given that Memphis hasn't been able to win the American since the Mike Norvell era, the fanbase is starved for another conference championship. Charles Huff's biggest box to check was landing a quarterback, and on Tuesday Afternoon he landed himself an elite talent to lead the team with a commitment from South Carolina transfer Air Noland.
Memphis has signed ex-South Carolina and Ohio State QB Air Noland, @chris_hummer and I have learned.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 13, 2026
Former top recruit. pic.twitter.com/F48jktBhzY
Coming out of High School, Air Noland was ranked as the 59th ranked player in the Country, the 5th ranked quarterback in the class, and the 9th ranked player out of Georgia. Noland signed with Ohio State where he appeared to be the next great young quarterback for the Buckeyes, but they ended up landing Julian Sayin from the same class via the Transfer Portal when Nick Saban retired.
Last offseason, Air Noland transferred to South Carolina where he hoped to sit behind LaNorris Sellers for one season and take over, but with Sellers returning Noland entered the Transfer Portal. As a Redshirt Sophomore, Air Noland needs to start playing to prove himself.
In his career, Air Noland is just 2-3 passing for 13 yards with 4 yards rushing all of which came this season. Noland is clearly talented enough to play at a high level, and now he can do so while contending for a championship in the American.