What to know about LSU football quarterback Michael Van Buren after he played vs Alabama
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TUSCALOOSA, AL – LSU football turned to its primary backup quarterback Michael Van Buren during the team’s matchup against rival Alabama Saturday night as it was trailing in the second half.
Starter Garrett Nussmeier was struggling to find much room moving the ball against the Crimson Tide and has had issues with consistent execution for much of this season as Alabama led by two scores in the third quarter.
LSU interim head coach Frank Wilson, who took over for former Tigers coach Brian Kelly who was fired Oct. 26, hinted this week about Van Buren possibly getting some playing time this weekend at Alabama.
Van Buren finished 5-for-11 passing for 52 yards and was credited with one net yard on six carries. Nussmeier went 18 of 21 for 121 yards passing and minus-13 yards on two carries.
Here’s what you need to know about Van Buren:
LSU football quarterback Michael Van Buren is a Mississippi State transfer
This is Van Buren’s first season with LSU. He transferred to Baton Rouge over the offseason from Mississippi State.
He started eight games as a freshman for the Bulldogs last season, going 1-7 over those contests, with the lone win coming against UMass. He threw for 1,886 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Michael Van Buren brings added element to LSU’s offense
The biggest difference between Van Buren and Nussmeier is his ability to affect the game with his legs.
Van Buren is a more dual-threat quarterback. While he didn’t run the ball a lot for Mississippi State last season, his ability to keep on zone reads or to tuck and run forces defenses to have to be ready for that aspect when he’s on the field.
LSU interim coach Frank Wilson talked playing Michael Van Buren playing vs Alabama
Entering the game this week, Wilson said that there could be certain situations where Van Buren could be inserted into the game at Alabama.
“We haven’t finalized that in our game-planning just yet,” Wilson said Wednesday morning on the SEC coaches teleconference. “But there are things that he does very well that we’ll ask him to do that we may not necessarily ask Garrett to do.
“And it will be for the benefit of the football team and the strength of his skill set.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: 3 things to know about LSU football quarterback Michael Van Buren
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