Michael Van Buren is an electric quarterback, and the four-star from Maryland is eyeing up the national stage next week when he participates in the Under Armour All-America Game. He is part of a very solid recruiting class that signed with Mississippi State earlier this month.
The class of 2024 prospect is coming off a strong senior season at St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland) where he showed increasing pocket poise and the ability to extend plays with his legs.
A four-star quarterback, Van Buren is the No. 230 player in the nation in the 247Sports Composite. He sees the Under Armour game as an important next step as he gets ready for SEC football.
“Most definitely looking forward to going out there and competing against the best players in the country and showcasing my talents,” Van Buren told USA TODAY High School Sports this week.
Van Buren officially signed with Mississippi State during the early signing period. Committed to Oregon since late May, Van Buren opened up his recruitment early in December.
Following an official visit to Starkville, he committed to Mississippi State. He credits new head coach Jeff Lebby, the former offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, in landing him with the Bulldogs.
“It was the best fit because of my relationship with coach Lebby and he has proven that his offense can be very explosive and put up big numbers,” Van Buren said.
“Also, the vision he has for ‘State’ to turn the program around is something that really caught my eye and something that I wanted to be a part of.”
The next week of the Under Armour All-America Game could and should be an exciting one for Van Buren. There will be fun, but he says he also hopes to learn from the experience of being part of one of the nation’s premier showcase events.
“I would say a little bit of both the main thing is to get better and learn from the great coaches,” Van Buren said.
“But you also only get an opportunity like this once so of course you gotta have fun with it!”
The game, played in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, takes place on Jan. 3 at 4:00 p.m. ET. It will air on ESPN.