TAMPA, Fla. – Funny how things work out sometimes, especially in this chaotic era of the transfer portal. After starting eight games as a true freshman at Mississippi State in 2024, quarterback Michael Van Buren entered the portal and ultimately transferred to LSU. Needing depth at the position, the Bulldogs reeled in Luke Kromenhoek from Florida State. Now, both are at USF after committing last Wednesday.
Van Buren is the most experienced of the three quarterbacks – also KJ Cooper from Texas Southern — first-year coach Brian Hartline received commitments from via the portal through Tuesday morning. (The two-week window remains open through Friday.)
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Van Buren, a Maryland native who attended St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, the same high school as former USF receiver Jeremiah Koger, followed analyst Trey Holtz to Tampa from LSU where Lane Kiffin took over. Holtz is the son of Skip and grandson of Lou.
Listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds in his LSU bio, Van Buren started the Tigers’ final four games of 2025 under interim coach Frank Wilson, who was put in charge after Brian Kelly was fired. Garrett Nussmeier’s season-ending abdominal injury opened the door for Van Buren, whose best outing (267 yards, 3 TDs) was in a Texas Bowl loss to Houston. He completed the season with 1,010 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions, and also ran for 129 yards and a score. The Tigers finished 7-6.
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An injury also led to Van Buren taking over the offense for what would be 2-10 Mississippi State in 2024. Blake Shapen was lost for the season after sustaining a shoulder injury in the SEC opener against Florida. Van Buren stepped in to start the Bulldogs’ final eight games – his first three starts were at Texas, at Georgia and vs. Texas A&M — and threw for 1,886 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven picks. He also ran for five TDs. He threw three TD passes against both UGA and the Aggies, and passed for a career high 309 yards in his fourth start, which was against Arkansas.
Van Buren arrives at USF with 2,896 career passing yards, 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions and six TDs on the ground.
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