ESPN puts Air Noland in its “Tier 16” in a new quarterback tiers story

ESPN put all 128 FBS teams’ quarterbacks in tiers ahead of the 2026 football season. Air Noland was the quarterback listed for the Tigers, and he found himself in tier 16.

Tier 16 was titled “Won’t back down”, and it featured four players. All four of the quarterbacks were guys who were at Power Four programs last season and transferred to Group of Five teams.

ESPN’s David Hale explained that it wasn’t a bad idea to move down to a G5 program and regain some confidence before transferring back up to a P4 school if you have success. Noland would fall in this description. 

The former four-star spent time as a backup for Ohio State and South Carolina, and he still has three years of eligibility remaining. The question is, will he be the starting quarterback for the Tigers this season?

Noland will enter the fall in a quarterback battle with West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes, and most people give Stokes the edge heading into the summer.

North Texas’ Tayven Jackson, Rice’s Jacuzzi Brown and UNLV’s Jackson Arnold were the other three quarterbacks in the tier with Arnold. Memphis will see Arnold in week zero, but the Tigers don’t have the Mean Green or the Owls on their conference schedule.