From laundry to limelight, this Mizzou Tigers standout is winning with humility

Nate Noel’s football career started in the laundry room.

That’s what you did on the junior-varsity football team at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. Players helped out Mama Robinson, the team mom who was like a real mother to the players.

Miami Northwestern coach Max Edwards said that’s how Noel eventually earned his way onto the varsity squad. Edwards wasn’t initially convinced after hearing numerous coaches rave about how well Noel performed with the JV team.

He decided back then that he’d have to see it for himself. Noel would need to earn a spot on his team.

“When he got an opportunity to play, I was blown out of my mind because he was everything that the coaches said,” Edwards said.

Noel paid his dues at Miami Northwestern and won a permanent starting role for Edwards, who called him a perfect example of the type of player the team needed: someone who led in silence and delivered on the field.

Noel would do little things off the field, too — things that made him even more special to Edwards. He worked hard in school, attended church with Edwards on Sundays and studied the hometown stars who came before him The Miami program also turned out former NFL running back Duke Johnson and current Cowboys practice squad tailback Dalvin Cook.

Those attributes solidified Noel’s standing as one of Edwards’ all-time favorite players to coach.

“You want the kid that’s one of the best players on your team to be the best player on the field and off the field,” Edwards said. “And he displayed that by going to class, doing what he’s supposed to do. And once you’ve got a kid like that, the other kids follow. He was going to the weight room, working out, doing everything extra that we needed him to do.

“His actions spoke for his words clearly.”

Those acts of service are what led Noel to two state-championship victories and a captaincy throughout his time in Miami. During his senior prep season in 2019, he rushed for 1,556 yards and amassed 22 touchdowns, earning state-championship MVP honors in the Bulls’ 34-17 win. He even was part of a 4x100 relay that won another state championship in 2019, his junior season.

When it came down to the biggest decision of his career at the time, it was clear where Noel wanted to go next.

The three-star prospect and No. 110-ranked running back — rated No. 1,371 overall in the recruiting class of 2020 — committed to Appalachian State.

“He said, ‘I’m gonna go with somebody that loves me,’” Edwards said. “I said, ‘That’s what you need: to go where they love you and perform from that point.’”

Setting a collegiate example

Noel discovered that love with App State, where he embraced the laundry room lessons of patience and determination.

His demeanor translated well to college. When it was game time he flipped a switch, former App State tight end August Drews said. Noel and Drews signed with the Mountaineers on the same day and played together for four years in Boone, North Carolina.

“He’s a very quick and shifty back,” Drews said. “He’s usually always going to make the first person miss, but he also has some crazy power when he’s running that, I feel like, if you looked at him, you wouldn’t know it. But then when you start seeing him run the ball (and) he comes downhill, he’s a pretty strong back.”

As a true freshman, Noel wasn’t supposed to be in the team’s primary rotation. But when the players ahead of him on the depth chart suffered injuries, Noel seized his opportunity. By season’s end, he had earned the No. 2 spot.

Noel’s hunger for the game set an example for the rest of the team, Drews said.

“He went for (131) yards his first game in, and since that moment, he never looked back,” Drews said. “He was always a top back at the school for the four years I was there, and I think a lot of the younger guys came in and respected that he was fine waiting those first (few) games and not playing. ... I think that he’s left that stamp on a lot of our younger backs there now.”

Through Edwards’ coaching, Noel understood that leadership extended outside of the field. Drews said he was a humble role model for both the team and its surrounding community.

“I’d often see him after games handing out gloves and stuff to the kids,” Drews said. “Obviously, at App State, all the kids and all the fans loved Nate Noel, and he was never shy to say, ‘What’s up?’ to a lot of the kids. He was never shy to talk to the boosters. He was a very good image for App State, and his skills on the field helped translate that.

Noel spent three of his four years with Appalachian State battling various injuries. An ankle injury last season limited the ball carrier at times, but that didn’t stop him from ranking No. 2 nationally in rushing yards per game (130.2) and leading the nation in rushing attempts per game (24.6).

In those four seasons with the Mountaineers, Noel had 541 carries for 3,076 yards, cementing him as the eighth-all-time rusher for App State. He totaled 50 receptions for 272 yards, 18 touchdowns and no fumbles, an impressive statistic that has so far carried into his career at Mizzou.

Rated as one of the top non-power conference running backs available in the transfer portal, Noel decided to spend his final season of college eligibility with the Tigers.

“We always knew Nate was going to be one of the big stars,” said Donovan Jones, who’s been friends with Noel since childhood. “In the Little League, he was always making amazing plays. He was always doing the stuff that’s hard, but he made it look easy. So we knew App State wasn’t the ceiling for him. Once he said he was going to hit the portal, we just knew the sky was the limit. Any team that was going to have him was blessed to get him.”

For Missouri, Noel was a good fit.

“In this age of the transfer portal, we’ll have 40, 50 new players every year, and we’ve just got to go out and get guys that we think can fit into the culture and the brotherhood that we have here,” Missouri running backs coach Curtis Luper said. “When Nate and his family came on a visit last ... January, we knew immediately that he was a fit here. He’s just a meek, mild, humble, confident young man, has played a lot of football, and what he wanted to do was play in the SEC.”

Mr. Do It All

Throughout the offseason, a question hovered over MU’s offense: How would the Tigers replace an All-America running back and team leader like Cody Schrader?

With some lightning and thunder, of course.

Drinkwitz’s recruitment of former Georgia State running back Marcus Carroll brought the thunder, but the Tigers still needed some lightning.

Enter Noel.

“Nate and Marcus are really good, complementary pieces,” Luper said. “Nate is (187) pounds, and he’s got quick feet. He can make you miss. And Marcus is (216) pounds, and he’s a pounder, but he can break tackles as well.

“I think they just complement each other really well. We don’t necessarily have to have 30 carries by either one of those guys. They can have 15 carries each, but they embrace it. They came in together; they’re really close, and they have the same goals. They want to help us win football games.”

Over the first three games of the 2023 season, Schrader had 51 carries for 280 yards and a touchdown. Between Noel and Carroll, Missouri has logged 75 carries for 396 yards and three touchdowns in the first three games this season. Noel has accounted for 45 of those carries, gaining 242 yards and scoring two touchdowns. He also has nine receptions for 26 yards.

Ever since Schrader departed for the NFL, Drinkwitz has emphasized that it’s not just about replacing his production; the greater challenge, the coach has said, is finding someone with his high character.

“Nate Noel, he came in here and he went to work,” Luper said. “He put his hard hat on, he went to work in the offseason, (and) he was really impressive in the offseason. ... If I have to say any trait that he possesses that Cody Schrader possesses, they’re both just extremely, extremely disciplined and extremely hard workers.”

Against Boston College, Noel recorded the longest play of his Tigers career thus far: a 24-yard carry when Missouri was mired in a second-and-58 situation late in the third quarter. Earlier in the game, Noel scored a 2-point conversion that knotted the game at 14.

He finished the day with team highs in carries (22) and rushing yards (121).

“I just smile at the moment,” Noel said. “I know it’s gonna be a big game. I know they’re gonna depend on me, just like I depend on everybody else. So, I just know I’ve got to do my part and just get the job done on my end.”

Against Buffalo, the starting running back took a direct snap into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. He also showed his versatility with a key downfield block that secured a 31-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Brady Cook.

Noel scored his first touchdown as a Tiger in the Murray State game. He led the team with 11 carries for 48 yards in a performance that Drews said impressed him, but wasn’t surprising.

“We always knew he could do it,” Drews said. “Every time we played a big school, he was amazing against them. ... We always knew that it was going to be that way when he got there, and then just watching him, it’s impressive to see how his speed and strength still translate, even at the level right above Group of Five.”

“He’s definitely not the most talkative person you’ll ever meet,” Jones said. “He’s more laid back, Mr. Do It All, Mr. Good Guy-like. ... He won’t ever show out on his success.”

Noel’s humility has shown as a Tiger, with the veteran often deferring to the success of the MU running backs overall when asked about his individual success.

“I appreciate it. I definitely do,” Noel said after last weekend’s win against Boston College. “I mean, that’s what I came here for. I came here to be a hot hand. I came here to just do what I can do to help the team. But, also, I feel like all the running backs, we all have our roles. ... I just feel like all that coming together is the biggest hot hand for real.”

Both Noel and Carroll were nominated to the watchlist for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation’s top running back. Schrader was one of three finalists for the award in 2023.

Edwards said he’s happy Noel transferred to Missouri because it gives the twitchy running back an opportunity to stand out among the Southeastern Conference elite.

“The way he’s playing now, I expect to see him playing on Sundays (in the NFL),” Edwards said.

Jones agreed.

“No matter what people say his ceiling is, he’s gonna overpass it,” Jones said. “I truly do believe he’s gonna be one of the best backs that Mizzou’s ever seen and one of the best backs the NFL has ever seen.”

For now, Noel is using the humility he developed in his football journey to set aside lofty aspirations and focus on the next snap, which will come against Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.

Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published September 20, 2024 at 12:20 PM with the headline "From laundry to limelight, this Mizzou Tigers standout is winning with humility."