Van Buren Jr. Named SEC Freshman of the Week

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State football's Michael Van Buren Jr. was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for his strong performance on the road at No. 5 Georgia on Saturday.

A true freshman from Bowie, Md., Van Buren Jr. had a breakout performance in his second career start. He set new season-bests in passing yards (306), passing touchdowns (3) and passing attempts and completions (20-for-37). He became the second Mississippi State quarterback in program history to throw for over 300 yards against Georgia. By throwing for over 300 yards in just his second career start, he became one of the fastest State quarterbacks to reach that milestone since at least 2010.

Van Buren Jr.'s three touchdown passes were his first career touchdowns through the air; he earned his first career touchdown on the ground the game prior at No. 1 Texas. He threw a 72-yard strike, the second-longest MSU play from scrimmage this season, to fellow true freshman Mario Craver to set up a touchdown pass to Kelly Akhariyi.

In addition to his strong stat numbers, Van Buren Jr. helped guide the Bulldogs to scoring 31 points at No. 5 Georgia. Mississippi State's 31 points against Georgia make them one of just five programs nationally to reach the 30-point mark, the others being Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Florida. State is also just the second team since 2016 (Tennessee) to score at least 30 points against Georgia in Athens.

Van Buren Jr. and the Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday when they host No. 14 Texas A&M at 3:15 p.m. CT.

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– HailState.com –

Mississippi State University Athletics

Van Buren Jr. Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Players Mentioned

Mario Craver

Michael Van Buren Jr.

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