Where does Michael Van Buren rank among highest-rated QB recruits in UO history?
The Oregon Ducks had a banner day on the recruiting trail Saturday afternoon, picking up a pair of blue-chip players in the 2024 class and adding them to the mix in Eugene.
4-star quarterback Michael Van Buren and 4-star defensive lineman Xadavien Sims announced their commitment to Oregon on Saturday afternoon. Both players are rated among the top 130 players in the 2024 class, offering a boost for the Ducks in the national recruiting rankings.
For the sake of this article, we want to focus on Van Buren.
While Oregon has seen a major jump in recruiting over the past decade or so, the one position group where they still haven’t had the elite of the elite players come through is at QB. We’ve seen 5-star linebackers, 5-star offensive linemen, 5-star wide receivers, and 5-star cornerbacks come through Eugene, among others. However, the highest-rated QB commit in Oregon history was a 4-star — Ty Thompson.
Van Buren doesn’t change that — he is widely rated as a high-end 4-star prospect, though ESPN has him rated as a 5-star. However, we wanted to look at how highly-rated Van Buren is when you compare him to the rest of the QB recruits in Oregon history.
Here’s where he now ranks in that group.
Cale Millen (2019)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.8904)
National Rank: No. 418 // No. 14 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 2 (Special Teams)
Transferred to Northern Arizona, Transferred to UCONN
Career Stats: 13-for-30, 73 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Braxton Burmeister (2017)
Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.8941)
National Rank: No. 305 // No. 10 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 11
Transferred to Virginia Tech, Transferred to San Diego State
Career Stats: 275-for-499, 3,283 yards, 20 TD, 14 INT
Darron Thomas (2008)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.8958)
National Rank: No. 280 // No. 5 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 31
Career Stats: 449-for-733, 5,910 yards, 66 TD, 17 INT
Bryan Bennett (2010)
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.8968)
National Rank: No. 297 // No. 12 QB)
Games Played at Oregon: 18
Transferred to South Eastern Louisiana
Career Stats: 45-for-83, 580 yards, 9 TD, 3 INT
Robby Ashford (2020)
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9006)
National Rank: No. 290 // No. 12 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 0
Transferred to Auburn
Career Stats: 123-for-250, 1,613 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT
Morgan Mahalak (2014)
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9081)
National Rank: No. 239 // No. 5 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 0
Transferred to Towson
Career Stats: 82-for-156, 931 yards, 4 TD, 5 INT
Jake Rodrigues (2012)
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9188)
National Rank: No. 229 // No. 7 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 2
Transferred to San Diego State
Career Stats: 3-for-6, 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Jay Butterfield (2020)
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9352)
National Rank: No. 147 // No. 5 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 2
Transferred to San Jose State
Career Stats: 3-for-4, 23 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Michael Van Buren (2024)
Photo Courtesy of Michael Van Buren
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9412)
National Rank: No. 129 // No. 11 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 0
Career Stats: N/A
Tyler Shough (2018)
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9422)
National Rank: No. 140 // No. 7 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 11
Transferred to Texas Tech
Career Stats: 288-for-451, 3,885 yards, 29 TD, 13 INT
Austin Novosad (2023)
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9435)
National Rank: No. 131 // No. 10 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 0
Career Stats: N/A
Travis Jonsen (2015)
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9529)
National Rank: No. 102 // No. 4 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 0
Transferred to Montana State, Moved to WR
Career Stats: 11-for-13, 107 yards, 2 TD // 83 catches, 899 yards, 2 TD // 118 rushes, 725 yards, 13 TD
Dennis Dixon (2003)
(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9757)
National Rank: No. 53 // No. 2 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 40
Career Stats: 444-for-695, 5,129 yards, 38 TD, 21 INT
Kellen Clemens (2001)
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9769)
National Rank: No. 65 // No. 5 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 37
Career Stats: 613-for-1,005, 7,555 yards, 61 TD, 24 INT
Ty Thompson (2021)
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
247Sports Recruiting Rating: 4-star (0.9809)
National Rank: No. 40 // No. 7 QB
Games Played at Oregon: 10
Career Stats: 18-for-35, 159 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
