Michael Van Buren named USF's starting quarterback
Brian Hartline names his first starting quarterback as Bulls head coach.
On Monday, first-year USF head coach Brian Hartline named quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. the team’s starting quarterback.
The junior transferred to USF this offseason after spending last season with LSU and his freshman season at Mississippi State.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Van Buren “edged” out junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek in the competition.
Van Buren Jr. has played in 17 games over the course of the past two seasons in the SEC. He was the starting quarterback in LSU’s final four games in 2025. He averaged 196.5 passing yards and 26.25 rushing yards during that stretch. Van Buren Jr. threw for eight touchdowns and just two interceptions in those games.
Van Buren Jr. will have massive 6-foot-3, 230-pound shoes to fill with the departure of Byrum Brown this offseason.
Brown is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in USF history. He ranks inside the top five in program history in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. In 2025, Brown became the 12th quarterback in FBS history to record 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.
Van Buren Jr. was rated a three-star prospect coming out of St. Frances Academy in 2024.
In his freshman season in 2024, he started the Bulldogs’ final eight games. Mississippi State didn’t find much success in those games, going 1-7, including losses to five ranked opponents during that stretch.
However, Van Buren Jr. was able to find some success. He averaged 223.25 passing yards per game during that stretch. Van Buren Jr. passed for 280 or more yards three times during that stretch, including throwing for 306 yards and three touchdowns in a performance against Georgia on the road that earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors. He finished the season with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
What is likely Van Buren’s strongest attribute is his deep ball. In 2024, 17.6% of his throws had 20 yards or more of air time, and he ranked sixth in the SEC in big-time throw rate.
However, Van Buren Jr. has struggled with overall accuracy as a collegiate quarterback. He has a career 57.5% completion percentage, and he had some accuracy struggles in the spring with USF.
But Van Buren Jr. did show improvement in that area, increasing his completion percentage from 54.7% in 2024 to 62.3% in 2025 with the Tigers. Van Buren’s completion percentage adjusted to take away drops was 76.1% last season.
Now, Van Buren will step into a full-time starting role to begin the season for the first time in his collegiate career.
He will make his USF debut in a little less than two weeks at Raymond James Stadium against Florida International.