CLASS IMPACT: QB Michael Van Buren Commits to Oregon

Breaking down what the Ducks are getting in their newest signal caller and what his addition means on the recruiting trail.

On Saturday, Oregon landed a massive commitment from 2024 Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy signal caller Michael Van Buren.

As always, we're breaking this commitment down from every angle.

Recruiting Impact

First and foremost, Oregon held off a major recruiting power in Penn State to land Van Buren's commitment, overcoming strong relationships with James Franklin's staff as well as geography to seal the deal. 

Furthermore, Van Buren is an elite name at quarterback and he'll make it even easier for the Ducks to attract more top targets in the 2024 class. He plays a national schedule against teams like Desoto in Texas and he's made a splash on the 7on7 circuit as well. 

The latest commitment for the Ducks comes at the perfect time as they can wrap up the quarterback spot this cycle. Summer is a crucial part of the recruiting calendar year so to have a major position of need taken care of is huge.

Will Stein also needs a shoutout because he's now landed three quarterbacks, two of which were All-Americans (Novosad and Van Buren) in the five months and change that he's been in Eugene. All three commitments are votes of confidence in what he can do as a coach and the vision Dan Lanning has for the program.

Lastly, the Ducks continue to hammer the DMV area, as Van Buren joins teammate Ify Obidegwu in Eugene while Oregon continues to recruit players like edge rusher Dylan Stewart and running back Da'Jaun Riggs.

Evaluation

Like I've been saying for a while, Van Buren is the more polished quarterback of the two Oregon has in the fold now. He's got a lively arm and he's got great mobility to move the pocket and throw on the run.

He doesn't have the burners Moga does, but he's more than capable of being an asset in the RPO game and he can hurt defenses with his legs if they leave the middle of the field open. His smaller frame (5'11", 185) may be a knock in the eyes of some scouts, but I think we're past the point of being that short sighted, shorter quarterbacks have gotten it done before. 

Oregon's newest commit has played against some of the best teams in the country during his high school career and that makes me believe he'll embrace the competition in the quarterback room once he gets to Eugene.

Roster Outlook at Oregon

Oregon is now set to have four quarterbacks on the roster for the 2024 season in Ty Thompson, Austin Novosad, Luke Moga and Van Buren. 

He's the more college-ready quarterback between him and Moga right now, which could make it more likely that he sees the field earlier. With Bo Nix headed to the NFL after this year there will be plenty of competition in 2024. 

Even so, if the Ducks don't see improvement from Thompson this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they returned to the portal for another proven arm. That said, they have three quality options to push Thompson and ensure there's no lack of talent at quarterback at Oregon.

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