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Is LSU’s starting qb for 2026 even on their 2025 roster now?

Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:07 am
Posted by paper tiger
acadiana
Member since Feb 2006
1150 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:07 am
I am going to guess no.

LSU is killing it at wr recruiting right now for their 2026 class. No school has sent more receivers to the NFL in the last few years than LSU. It has to be quite a selling point for LSU to point to how dominant Jefferson and Chase were as NFL rookies and the monster salaries they have now.

Another impt selling point for wr recruiting is having a top qb on the roster who can get receivers the ball. I would imagine Nuss staying an extra yr helped some in the great transfer wr class we had this past year.

This is no knock on Van Buren or Johnson, either one could develop into a top qb. Either might start at a lot of programs. But as of right now, neither of the two have the pedigree of a Burrow, Daniels or Nussmeier. I do not see our 2026 qb room, as it stands now, as being much of a selling point to wr recruits.

This is where the Underwood flip hurt LSU. It’s almost certain LSU went over their qb roster with Underwood and all but promised his that he twould start in 2026, and was a Nuss sprained ankle away from starting as a freshman.

The really bad thing about the Underwood flip is that it came too late for LSU to get one of the other blue chip 2025 qb recruits to flip to LSU. It left a real hole on LSU’s qb depth chart. Thank goodness we got Van Buren, he seems at least capable and could develop. But he is not much of a selling point for wr recruits compared to all the top teams with proven qbs.

I would guess the wr commits we are getting now are being sold on how LSU gets receivers into the NFL. And of course, LSU has to be giving them NIL deals at least comparable to the packages other schools must be offering. But I doubt that having Van Buren as our heir apparent was much of a selling point. It’s almost certain that schools trying to flip Tristan Keys will use LSUs qb room after Nuss leaves against LSU.

There is one silver lining, I guess, to not being loaded in your qb room. You become a prime contender for the top qbs in the portal wanting to start right away at a bog school. Most blue chip QBs out of high school are willing to be back ups as freshman, but a lot hit the portal if they cant start as sophomores of juniors.

These kids are not looking for another qb room at another school with other blue chips they have to beat out. All things being equal with NIL money, top transfers want to go to the very top college teams where they can start right away. Arch Manning staying at Texas to play another yr behind Ewers later year is the exception, not the rule.

Blue chip qbs in the portal dont want to go transfer to schools with Mannings or Underwood’s on their roster they have to beat out. They want to go to schools with a relatively weak qb room where thye can play right away.

If LSU goes into 2026 with Van Buren and Johnson competing to start, LSU will be a prime landing spot for blue chips qbs in the portal looking to start for a national contender.

Vote the post down if you think LSUs starting qb for 2026 is on their roster now. Vote the post up if you think our next starter comes from the portal or from some qb we get in our 2026 class.

Posted by LSU Patrick
Member since Jan 2009
75446 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:14 am to
Will there be a spring game?
Posted by kengel2
Team Gun
Member since Mar 2004
32877 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:17 am to
quote:

Is LSU’s starting qb for 2026 even on their 2025 roster now?


With the transfer portal, I'd say more than half the fbs schools don't have next year's qb on their roster.
Posted by Lester Earl
3rd Ward
Member since Nov 2003
284807 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:20 am to
quote:

I am going to guess no.



You don't even need to write 8 paragraphs on it. No.
Posted by friendlyobservation
Member since Mar 2024
1269 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:21 am to
With the way the current portal is setup: No.
Posted by SoloTiger
Member since Aug 2016
10311 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 11:29 am to
No. Van Buren aint it if you want to compete for a playoff berth and an SEC title IMO.
Posted by GeauxTigers9907
Houston
Member since Dec 2015
538 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 12:25 pm to
What makes you think he isn’t it?
Posted by chadr07
Pineville, Louisiana
Member since Jan 2015
10349 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 12:33 pm to
No.


I’m not on the roster yet. Have patience I’m comin.
Posted by Lakeboy7
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2011
25300 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 12:56 pm to
quote:

This is where the Underwood flip hurt LSU.


Will go down as one of the greatest turnaround moments in LSU football.

Yep we got burned but we had 7 million in the bank and went to work in the portal.
Posted by SoloTiger
Member since Aug 2016
10311 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 1:03 pm to
Watching all of the game action I could find on him.

Has a good arm and can make pretty much all of the throws. Accuracy is a concern however. I suspect some people think he is uber athletic and has great running skills, but they are only slightly above average for a college QB IMO.

If Nuss goes down for a game or so in '25, I think he could lead LSU to a win over a lower or mid-tier SEC team.

He's just not a franchise QB IMO.
Posted by MasterAbe1
Member since Oct 2016
5828 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 1:55 pm to
Disagree. Van Buren was impressive on a dogshit team as a true freshman. He will need to improve his accuracy, but he’s a gamer.
Posted by Lester Earl
3rd Ward
Member since Nov 2003
284807 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 2:00 pm to
He’s very clearly a backup type QB on a good team. He lacks the physical tools you need to win big SEC games.
Posted by sunnydaze
Member since Jan 2010
32053 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 2:48 pm to
Too early to make that call Les
This post was edited on 3/29/25 at 2:49 pm
Posted by Lester Earl
3rd Ward
Member since Nov 2003
284807 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 3:03 pm to
He's small with a fringe arm. He is way below the standard set for an LSU QB. He could play in spurts and probably be fine but over the course of the season would not hold up.
Posted by Donkus
Shreveport
Member since Feb 2013
1170 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 3:25 pm to
quote:

He's small with a fringe arm.


So he's Danny Etling. I can live with that if the running game is improved.
Posted by Lester Earl
3rd Ward
Member since Nov 2003
284807 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 3:39 pm to
After Burrow, Daniels, and hopefully Nussmeier, that is a low barometer
Posted by GeauxLSU4
New Orleans
Member since Feb 2012
11449 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 4:04 pm to
I’d say no. The staff will get to see MVB up close for a year to determine if he’s the guy, but we’ll more than likely go find a transfer.
Posted by monkeymonk174
Member since Jan 2025
114 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 4:17 pm to
Even if Nostradamus wrote this its too long to read
Posted by TigaStyle4
Member since Feb 2025
41 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 4:22 pm to
I agree with you, he looked good as a starter as a freshman on a bad team. No reason to believe he wouldn’t also look good on this team with much better talent around him and another year of development under his belt.

I think a lot of people on here are writing him off. He certainly has potential.
Posted by mwade91383
Washington DC
Member since Mar 2010
6196 posts
Posted on 3/29/25 at 7:46 pm to
I really like Van Buren. I think he’s our guy.
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