#11 Michael Van Buren Jr. Season 2025
Starting quarterback at Mississippi State for the final 8 games of the 2024 season … Spent 1 year at Mississippi State before signing with LSU in December of 2024 … Highly touted prep quarterback at powerhouse St. Frances Academy in Baltimore … Originally committed to Oregon before eventually signed with Mississippi State … Passed for 1,88 yards and 11 TDs and added 5 rushing touchdowns in his 1 season at Mississippi State.
TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON (2024 at Mississippi State)
Started final 8 games at quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2024 … Appeared in 10 games completing 140-of-256 passes for 1,886 yards, 11 TDs and 7 interceptions … Added 5 rushing TDs … Named SEC Freshman of the Week after passing for 306 yards and a career-best 3 TDs against Georgia in week 5 of the season … First career TD pass came against Georgia … Threw a career-long pass of 72 yards vs. Georgia … Other 300-yard game came against Arkansas when he completed 22-of-31 passes for 309 yards and 2 TDs … Tied career-highs for completions (22) and TD passes (3) vs. Texas A&M … Had 8 TD passes over a 3-game span in games against Georgia (3), Texas A&M (3) and Arkansas (2) … Made collegiate debut in backup action vs. Eastern Kentucky … First career start came at Texas, completing 12-of-23 passes for 144 yards … Rushed for first career TD at Texas …. Accounted for 3 TDs (2 rushing, 1 passing) vs. UMass … Closed season with 280 passing yards and 2 TDs (1 rushing, 1 passing) vs. Ole Miss.
HIGH SCHOOL
Prepped at Baltimore St. Frances Academy under the direction of head coach Messay Hailemariam … Rated with 4-star by ESPN and Rivals … Considered a 3-star recruit by 247Sports and On3 … Rated inside ESPN’s Top 300 for 2024 at No. 58 … Played in the 2024 Under Armour All-American Game … Played a national high school schedule and guided St. Frances Academy to back-to-back top 10 finishes in the MaxPreps Top 25 in both 2022 and 2021 … Guided St. Frances to the 2022 national championship game against IMG Academy and was ranked as the No. 2 high school program in the country … In a win against eventual Texas 6A Division II State Champion DeSoto, Van Buren completed 13-of-20 passes for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns … After missing 4 games in 2023, Van Buren returned to guide his squad to wins in 5 of the team’s final 7 games … Earned All-Metro honors by the Baltimore Sun in 2022 after passing for 1,707 yards and 18 touchdowns to go along with his 125 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
MICHAEL VAN BUREN’S CAREER HIGHS
Pass Attempts: 41 vs Texas A&M, 2024
Pass Completions: 22, 2x (First: vs. Texas A&M, 2024; Last: vs. Arkansas, 2024)
Pass Yards: 309 vs. Arkansas, 2024
Pass TDs: 3, 2x (First: at Georgia, 2024; Last: vs. Texas A&M, 2024
Long Pass: 72 at Georgia, 2024
Rushing Attempts: 12 at Texas, 2024
Rushing Yards: 15 at Georgia, 2024
Rushing TDs: 2 vs. UMass, 2024
Long Rush: 17 vs. UMass
MICHAEL VAN BUREN’S CAREER 300-YARD PASSING GAMES
309 vs. Arkansas, Oct. 26, 2024
306 at Georgia, Oct. 12, 2024