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Langston Star Quarterback is Part of Family Tradition

Langston Star Quarterback is Part of Family Tradition
Prentiss Air Noland

 

 

Prentiss Air Noland and Coach William Boone

Prentiss Air Noland and Coach William Boone

 

When he graduated January 8, 2024 from Langston Hughes High School, star quarterback Prentiss Air Noland became part of a family tradition.

"My older siblings all graduated from high school early," Noland said. "I had no choice but to graduate early and go to college."

The star quarterback who passed for over 10,000 yards during his tenure at Langston Hughes, a Fulton County Schools record, began his quest for early graduation in the ninth grade.

"I started taking courses my freshman year to prepare for college," Noland said. "I even took some classes at Georgia Military College."

Graduating from high school ahead of schedule is an accomplishment.

"There has to be a tremendous amount of preparation," said Zone 3 Superintendent Ron Maxwell. "The parents have to set a plan."

"His mother and I got on him early and reminded him of what he needed to graduate early," said Prentiss Noland, Sr. "We wanted him to follow in the footsteps of his siblings and pursue his dreams."

Noland's mother, Audrey Gill, agrees.

"I pushed him toward it, and he realized how it could help him and he was all for it," said Gill.

Langston Hughes football coach William Boone is grateful for Noland's dedication. In 2023 Boone reached the milestone of winning fifty games.

"Fifty wins in five years in the state of Georgia is an accomplishment," Boone said. "Noland has been part of many of those wins."

Coaching Noland has been a delight for Boone, who won the state 7A football championship in 2022 with the star quarterback.

"He brought us from an unranked team to the number nine team in the country," Boone said. "Academically he's always excelled. He's a competitor and a student of the game. He is the total package."

But it was handling adversity that helped Noland persevere.

"When he came to Langston his ninth-grade year he didn't start at Langston," Gill said. "His freshman year he was humbled."

The family received calls from private schools who wanted to enroll Noland.

"He was recruited by private schools who wanted him to play for them, but I said let's keep him at Langston," Gill said. "I said we're going to stay here and we're going to compete."

Gill, who graduated from Tri-Cities High School, is grateful to the district.

"I'm so grateful to Fulton County Schools for all they've done for my son," she said.

While he has won a state championship and was nominated for numerous awards, including "Mr. Georgia Football" through the Touchdown Club of Atlanta, Gill is most proud of her son's humbleness.

"I'm blessed to have a son with his persona," she said. "I'm so glad we chose to keep him at Langston."