LSU to start Michael Van Buren at QB vs. Arkansas

LSU is set to start Michael Van Buren at quarterback this week against Arkansas, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. He saw action in last week’s game against Alabama in relief of Garrett Nussmeier.

Van Buren arrived in Baton Rouge this offseason after transferring from Mississippi State and has appeared in three games this year. He has completed 18 of 27 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown, as well.

LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson previously said both Van Buren and Nussmeier would play in Saturday’s game against Arkansas. However, Nussmeier is dealing with an abdominal injury and appeared on the SEC availability report following Thursday’s practice. He was listed as questionable on Friday’s updated availability report.

Wilson said it isn’t a new injury and Nussmeier is still dealing with a “nagging” issue. He added LSU would monitor his status for Saturday’s matchup against Arkansas.

“A little nagging injury reoccurred itself with Garrett Nussmeier today,” Wilson said on Thursday. “And so, I think he’s probable. A little bit concerning, something that we need to monitor and continue to watch with him as we head into the game.”

Saturday’s game will mark Van Buren’s fourth appearance, meaning one more game after this would burn his redshirt. Wilson addressed that possibility earlier this week.

“Those are the things that you have to take into consideration of student-athlete and family, of what may have been told to them prior and where we’re currently at as a program,” Wilson said. “And we’re taking those appropriate measures.”

As a freshman at Mississippi State in 2024, Michael Van Buren appeared in 10 games. During that time, he completed 54.7% of his passes for 1,886 yards and 11 touchdowns, to seven interceptions. He then entered the transfer portal, becoming the No. 156 overall player and No. 15-ranked quarterback to hit the open market, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

After replacing Nussmeier on Saturday, Van Buren completed 5-of-his-11 pass attempts for 52 yards. In his postgame press conference, Wilson said he saw good signs from both quarterbacks during LSU’s 20-9 loss at Alabama in Week 11.

“Both of them did some good things. I thought both of those guys did things that need to be improved upon,” Wilson said. “Garrett, at times, was spectacular. He started off red-hot. He did some really good things for us.

“I felt at the back end, we needed a spark and something to get us going and add another dimension to our game. I thought Michael stepped in and gave those things to us as a football team. As of now, nothing has drastically changed in how we have flowed. … We’re going to use everything that we have, and both of those guys will play in this game moving forward.”