A year before Michael Van Buren Jr. made his first collegiate start in front of 101,388 burnt orange-clad fans last Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the Mississippi State freshman was playing top high school football teams from all corners of the country.
Van Buren grew up in Bowie, Maryland, and attended St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, but instead of playing a local schedule like most high school teams, the Panthers traveled all over the United States, facing some of the best teams in the nation from as far away as Florida, Texas and California.
So while Van Buren’s first start as a Bulldog came on the road against No. 1 Texas, his first high school start — as a sophomore — was also on the road against California powerhouse De La Salle, a program so storied that its 151-game winning streak from 1992 to 2003 became the basis for the 2014 movie “When the Game Stands Tall.”
“His first game action was in California versus De La Salle, and I’ll never forget, he just kind of lit (up) the scoreboard,” St. Frances head coach Messay Hailemariam said. “I knew early when he was in practice that he was really dynamic, but I got to see his game situation, and you see that his skill set is a little bit above average. He’s not nervous. He’s seen the best around the country early in his high school career, so it’s not a shock to him.”
In that 2021 game against the Spartans, Van Buren threw four touchdown passes in the first half in a 42-28 Panthers victory. St. Frances would go on to win all five of its remaining games, capped by a 34-24 win at Florida’s IMG Academy in November.
“I wasn’t able to be there (for the De La Salle game), but that morning, I texted my son, and I told him, ‘Go out there and show them who you are. You were given this opportunity. Show them why they recruited you to St. Frances,’” Van Buren’s mother, Monique Walker, said. “And that’s exactly what he did. He went out there and had a breakout game. That game put him on the map of being noticed by colleges everywhere.”
‘Having a philosophy about the game’
Van Buren was singularly dedicated to football from a young age, and it was his only sport apart from a brief stint as a track and field athlete. At age 9, he began working with Russell Thomas, a former St. Frances assistant coach who is now a co-owner and operator at Athletic Republic Capitol Region, a performance center for individualized, sport-specific training.
Thomas has a strong track record for developing quarterbacks — he also mentored Washington D.C. product Caleb Williams, who won the 2022 Heisman Trophy at USC and was the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. MSU tight ends Justin and Cameron Ball also trained with Thomas, who was on campus last week as Van Buren prepared to take over as the starter.
“(It’s about) seeing the game, understanding the game, having a philosophy about the game,” Thomas said. “A lot of folks around the country can spin the ball. A lot of folks can throw. But it’s understanding fronts, coverages, techniques, the things that move the offense, move the defense. That’s the part he’s doubled down on, especially over the last three years.”
Van Buren’s work with Thomas, combined with his sophomore year game experience, helped him to a huge year for the Panthers as a junior. St. Frances played its first five games on the road that year in five different states, none of them being Maryland, and won all five – including a 47-7 rout of Texas 6A Division II state champion DeSoto.
The following year brought much more adversity for Van Buren, who missed the first four games — all road losses — due to an injury before returning and leading his team to a 5-2 record the rest of the way. He did so with a patchwork offensive line missing multiple starters with season-ending injuries and against what Hailemariam called “the hardest schedule in high school football history.”
“We had a 14-year-old freshman center, two 15-year-old tackles, one guy who transferred from public school,” Hailemariam said. “So four out of his five linemen were guys who were completely brand-new to the program. Mike kept us in games just because of his sheer ability to create opportunities for us on offense without necessarily all the weapons he could have afforded for himself.”
A four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Van Buren had offers from top programs all over the country, with Jeff Lebby recruiting him at Oklahoma as the offensive coordinator. In May 2023, Van Buren committed to Oregon, but still took an official visit to Penn State after committing to the Ducks. Last December, after the Bulldogs hired Lebby as head coach, he decommitted from Oregon and visited Starkville the following weekend.
Two days after his official visit, MSU had its quarterback for the class of 2024. Van Buren signed his national letter of intent 10 days after that, and less than a month later, he was on campus as an early enrollee.
“Oregon kind of was cold. They were still willing to take him, but they didn’t show the love I thought they should have, and the reality for me and anybody else on our roster, I always say that you want to go somewhere you’re coveted and loved, not tolerated,” Hailemariam said. “When Lebby got the job, it was like a perfect storm. He came into Mississippi State, and for him to get a quarterback the caliber of Mike that late, it was a blessing in disguise.”
‘I didn’t want it to happen like this’
The starting quarterback job clearly belonged to Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, but entering spring ball, only redshirt freshman Chris Parson had appeared in a game for the Bulldogs behind center, so Van Buren had the chance to compete for the primary backup role.
Both Parson and Van Buren saw action in mop-up duty late in MSU’s season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky. But when Shapen sustained a shoulder injury in the second half against Florida, it was Van Buren who relieved him, completing seven of 13 passes for 100 yards. Later that evening, the Bulldogs learned that Shapen would need surgery and miss the rest of the season, and Van Buren learned the following day that he was now the starter.
“It wasn’t an excited reaction, because I didn’t want it to happen like this,” Van Buren said after MSU’s 35-13 loss to the Longhorns. “(Blake and I) had a great relationship, so I immediately texted him to make sure he was straight. I just knew I had to get in the film room and do more than I was doing before.”
Van Buren looked poised in the pocket for most of the game, but he and the coaches had trouble getting the plays in at times, leading to back-to-back delay of game penalties early in the fourth quarter. Texas’ pass rush also overwhelmed the Bulldogs’ offensive line and sacked Van Buren six times for 45 yards.
Still, Van Buren completed more than half his passes, did not throw an interception and recorded his first collegiate touchdown on a 12-yard scramble in the fourth quarter. Following an open date, his next opportunity will come in another hostile environment when MSU faces a top-5 Georgia team on the road on Oct. 12.
“Having his first start against No. 1 Texas, that’s a lot of pressure. I will say, he didn’t show it,” center Ethan Miner said. “I would expect him to show that he was a little nervous. But it gave me confidence that he wasn’t showing it to us. That’s important for the o-line to see that, because you want somebody who’s confident behind you.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
