Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Calls LSU Quarterback a ‘Great Talent’

NORMAN — Oklahoma will battle an LSU team on Saturday that looks much different than the Sooners would have guessed before the season.

The Tigers fired longtime coach Brian Kelly after their lopsided loss to Texas A&M in October. LSU will also be without senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier — a preseason Heisman contender — as he reaggravated an abdominal injury that he suffered before the season.

With Nussmeier sidelined, sophomore quarterback Michael Van Buren will start behind center for LSU.

OU coach Brent Venables is very familiar with Van Buren.

The Sooners are one of the many Power Four programs that pursued Van Buren when he was a 3-star quarterback prospect in the Class of 2024.

“He’s a guy that we worked really hard to try to get here to Oklahoma,” Venables said.

Van Buren initially committed to Oregon in May 2023 before flipping to Mississippi State in December of that year to play alongside former OU offensive coordinator and current Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby.

The quarterback lasted only one season in Starkville but saw significant playing time in 2024. He finished his true freshman campaign with 1,886 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 54.7 percent passing.

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Van Buren transferred to LSU after the 2024 season to serve as the backup to Nussmeier. He played sparingly in the first two thirds of the year, appearing in the Tigers’ games against Southeast Louisiana and Texas A&M. Nussmeier’s abdominal injury flared up in LSU’s game against Alabama earlier this month, and the veteran quarterback hasn’t played since.

Van Buren has led the Tigers to wins over Arkansas and Western Kentucky since Nussmeier’s injury. He has thrown for 647 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in five appearances this year.

“He's a guy that throws with great anticipation before the receiver's open,” Venables said. “He throws them open. He's got great talent as far as his arm talent and plays with a lot of confidence.”

Van Buren has also rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown this season. While those numbers aren’t flashy, Venables acknowledged how the sophomore quarterback can hurt defenses with his dual-threat abilities.

"He can get out of trouble with his legs,” Venables said.

Another challenging aspect of game-planning for Van Buren is that there isn’t much film of him at LSU. The transfer signal caller has played in five games in 2025, but he has only attempted 100 passes this season.

From scouting Van Buren as a high school player, Venables knows that the quarterback can be dangerous and that OU’s defense will have to play disciplined football to neutralize him.

“I just watch things that I've seen on video; we don't have a ton of tape,” Venables said. “When he gets in there, guys play. So those are the things I see. All of it’s just kind of afar and evaluating it on tape alone."

Saturday’s game between OU and LSU is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.