Oregon lands commitment from 4-star QB Michael Van Buren

Oregon picked up another highly touted recruit on Saturday.

Four-star quarterback and 2024 prospect Michael Van Buren announced his commitment to the Ducks. Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff successfully landed the quarterback out of Baltimore over Maryland and Penn State.

"I feel like Coach Lanning is really building something special at Oregon," Van Buren said to On3 on why he decided to commit to Oregon. "He’s very big on family and that really stood out to me. I also feel like how my play style really fits in the offensive scheme."

Van Buren visited Oregon's campus in April, which expedited his commitment decision that was originally planned for July. 

Scouts' and recruiting evaluators' reviews of Van Buren vary. He's ranked as a five-star recruit, a top-20 overall prospect, and the second-best quarterback prospect by ESPN. But most recruiting sites have Van Buren graded as a four-star recruit. On3 ranked Van Buren as the 18th-best quarterback prospect in his class, while Rivals has him ranked as the fifth-best quarterback prospect in the 2024 class.

Van Buren, who is 6 feet tall, is viewed as a pro-style quarterback. He threw for 606 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in four games last season for St. Frances Academy.

Van Buren is the second quarterback in the 2024 class to commit to Oregon. Three-star quarterback Luke Moga of Phoenix committed to Oregon in April.

"Me and Moga already talked, and we are cool," Van Buren said to On3 on being the second quarterback to join the class. "We both are competitors, and we told each other that when we get there we’re gonna work and make each other better. May the best man win the job."

The two quarterback commitments in the 2024 class might be by design for Lanning and his staff. The Ducks lost the commitment of 2023 five-star quarterback Dante Moore in December when he flipped to UCLA. Moore was widely viewed as a top-three quarterback prospect in the 2023 class.

Van Buren and Moga's commitments also set the stage for either one of them to become Bo Nix's successor in 2024.

Van Buren is the 13th prospect from the 2024 class to commit to Oregon. The Ducks are poised to land another talented recruiting class in Lanning's second full recruiting cycle with the program. They've landed six four-star recruits so far, earning them the eighth-best recruiting class in 2024 through Van Buren's commitment on On3. They had a consensus top-10 recruiting class in 2023.