4-star QB Michael Van Buren commits to Oregon Ducks: 'This is where I should be'

Bowie (Md.) St. Frances Academy four-star quarterback Michael Van Buren visited Oregon on April 15, his first of two trips to Eugene in two weeks. While watching spring practice with his mother, he realized that Oregon was the right place for him.

Six days later, Van Buren announced a top three of the Ducks, Maryland and Penn State, but his mind was already made up. The 5-foot-11.5, 185-pound signal-caller officially announced his commitment to Oregon on Saturday.

“I felt like this is where I should be,” Van Buren told On3. “This is where I feel like I will be developed and turned into a better man, even outside of football, for the years to come.”

Alabama and Oklahoma were some of the schools leading for Van Buren at one point. Yet Oregon won out because of its coaching staff and track record working with quarterbacks, among other factors.

The Ducks’ campus is more than 2,000 miles from Van Buren’s home. However, he is okay with the distance between he believes head coach Dan Lanning and Co. can get him to the NFL.

“They have great people in the building,” said Van Buren, the No. 182 overall prospect and No. 13 quarterback in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. “The opportunity at Oregon is second to none in football and in life. They’re really big on family and feel like coach (Will) Stein can really develop me and maximize my potential.”

Van Buren is excited for the future at Oregon

After the departure of Kenny Dillingham to Arizona State, Lanning hired Stein as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Stein, who previously worked at UTSA, quickly built a connection with Van Buren when he was hired in December.

“Since he first got there, he’s made sure to communicate with me very often,” Van Buren said. “We built that relationship and I got up there twice. My mom got up there and met him. We really enjoyed our time talking with him, having meetings with him, talking ball and even talking about stuff that’s happening in real life. He’s a great person.”

The Maryland native likes Stein’s high-energy personality on the field, as well as his laid-back attitude off it. Meanwhile, Lanning played a “huge” role in Van Buren’s decision.

Van Buren shared that Lanning not only has passion for the program, but also cares about his players and creating a family environment in Eugene. He believes Lanning — who won a national championship at Georgia — can get Oregon back to the College Football Playoff.

“He’s doing a lot of big things,” Van Buren said. “He’s preached to me that within the next couple of years, he’s gonna win it. He’s gonna recruit guys to Oregon and put Oregon back on top, like they used to be.”

Van Buren is the second quarterback in Oregon’s top-10 recruiting class, along with Phoenix (Ariz.) Sunnyslope three-star Luke Moga. He is already excited to help the Ducks land more blue-chip players.

“It’s time to recruit this class and make this the No. 1 class in the country,” said Van Buren, who moved up his commitment from July. “I feel like when I put that out there, it could spark decisions from a bunch of other recruits.”