Michael Van Buren Jr. named Mississippi State football starting QB for injured Blake Shapen

Sam Sklar, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

STARKVILLE — Michael Van Buren Jr. will be Mississippi State football's starting quarterback against Texas, coach Jeff Lebby announced Monday. Chris Parson could play too, he said.

"Both of those guys are going to be a big part of the competition, but Mike is going to run out first," Lebby said. "I can go ahead and announce that. I was proud of how he was able to put a drive together there in the fourth quarter for us. He's a guy that has great confidence in himself and the guys around him. Chris has been unbelievable from being a great teammate, working his butt off, doing some of the things that we need him to do to create a ton of confidence, but Michael will run out there first."

It will be the Bulldogs' first game without starter Blake Shapen, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last week's loss to Florida. Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1 SEC) plays Texas (4-0) on Saturday (3:15 p.m., SEC Network) at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Van Buren, a true freshman, came into the game for Shapen in the fourth quarter. He led a touchdown drive on his first series and then marched MSU down the field again in his second series to the Florida 1-yard line, but time ran out in the game. He finished 7-of-13 passing for 100 yards.

Parson, a redshirt freshman, made one start last season but threw three interceptions with just five completions and 36 yards in a 51-10 loss at Texas A&M. He's appeared in two other games in his career.

Junior Jake Weir, a former preferred walk-on, is the only other healthy quarterback on the MSU roster

Michael Van Buren Jr. stats

Van Buren also appeared in the Week 1 game against Eastern Kentucky but did not record any stats.

  • 7-of-13 passing for 100 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions

  • Five rushing attempts for minus-5 yards

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football starting Michael Van Buren Jr. at QB vs Texas

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