4-star QB Michael Van Buren commits to Mississippi State: 'It's a great place'

Prior to his official visit this weekend, four-star Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy quarterback Michael Van Buren knew almost nothing about Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs entered his recruitment after hiring Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who had recruited Van Buren when he was in Norman. The two reconnected when Van Buren texted him and to congratulate him on getting the head job in Starkville, and things took off from there.

A week ago, Van Buren backed his longtime pledge to Oregon and eight days later, he has committed to the Bulldogs.

“Who wouldn’t want to be in a top-rated offense, and he’s proven that his offense is going to be successful every single year,” Van Buren told On3. “What excites me the most is his passion for developing quarterbacks for the game. He loves his players, and he’s real big on relationships and family, which drew me to him a lot. I’m excited to learn from him.”

Jeff Lebby made Van Buren a top priority after taking the job

When Lebby was the OC for the Sooners, Van Buren was one of his top priorities. At that point, he lost out to Oregon. But Lebby wasn’t going to be denied a second time.

“I sent him a text and said ‘congrats on the job’ because we had a good relationship previous to him getting there,” Van Buren added. “He pretty much let me know right away that I’m the guy he wants off the bat. As much as he wanted me then [at Oklahoma], it was even more now. He wants me to come in and the guy to help change the whole program around.”

Visit to Starkville sealed the deal

This weekend marked the first trip for Van Buren to Starkville, and it was a pretty major change from his hometown of Baltimore. But being around the other commits and recruits made him comfortable with what’s being built by Lebby’s regime.

“It’s a small town, not that many people but they’re bringing people in the building that care about players and their success,” he said. “They have people with great track records who have done it at the highest level in the SEC, and it’s a great place. A lot of people are bought into Mississippi State with Coach Lebby, and things are going in the right direction.

… Everybody is excited, and he had a lot of recruits down here this weekend. It was like a whole new Mississippi State to bring in all the big recruits and get this thing rolling. With the playoffs expansion, we want to be one of those teams. With everybody bought in at the university right now, I feel like we can definitely get there.”