When Zeb Noland first told his former head coach he was heading to South Carolina, Matt Campbell was ecstatic.

The Iowa State head coach had met Shane Beamer for the first time a few weeks prior at the Big 12 championship game and was elated for his former quarterback to spend time under the newly-named Gamecock head coach

Like Noland, Campbell thought it was going to be as a graduate assistant coaching but now, a few months later, it’s Noland who’s the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback and Campbell who’s cheering him on from Iowa.

“I’m sure Zeb’s gone in there and been a huge asset in terms of helping the players prepare. It makes sense this opportunity came his way and he was able to capitalize on it. I’m excited for him,” Campbell told reporters Tuesday.

“I’m a big Zeb fan from recruiting him to the University of Toledo to recruiting him here and his family and what he’s about and stands for. Zeb’s a great kid and great for him. Hopefully he can do a great job for those guys.”

Noland was recruited by Campbell first to Toldeo and then to Iowa State after Campbell was named the head coach there in November of 2015.

The two were together for three years before Noland transferred to play two seasons at North Dakota State and then start his coaching career, or so he thought.

The Gamecocks named Noland the starter entering this weekend’s matchup against Eastern Illinois and Campbell thinks he has a shot at helping the team because of his experience at the position.

“Zeb, coming from a coaching family, he’s already done that one time,” Campbell said. “He went to a great program around great quarterbacks and a great football team and his ability to adapt.”

South Carolina hosts the Panthers at 7 p.m. Saturday night (ESPN Plus) and, while it’s a little different than what was originally thought, Campbell thinks Noland can learn a lot from Beamer during his time at South Carolina.

“I’m excited for Zeb. He texted me when he was going to go to South Carolina as a graduate assistant. I met coach Beamer right before the Big 12 championship game right as he got named the head coach right before our game,” Campbell said.

“I felt like, ‘Man, what a neat guy.’ Felt like he’s going to do a great job. For Zeb to be able to get his first experience going there as a coach I thought would be really good for Zeb to start his career.”

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