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Jackson Arnold officially signed to continue his college football career at Auburn, not Mississippi State. The Bulldogs whiffed on the five-star transfer after squeezing out their starting quarterback.
Although it is not the end of the world in Starkville, it is a big miss for head coach Jeff Lebby!
Michael Van Buren started nine games for Mississippi State in 2024. He was thrust into the QB1 role after an injury to Baylor transfer Blake Shapen and showed a lot of promise at various moments throughout his freshman year. His 306-yard outing against Georgia was the most exciting game of the year for a team that finished dead last in the Southeastern Conference with an overall record of 2-10.
I could watch this clips all day.
— Hump Dawg (@HumpDawgMSU) October 13, 2024
Michael Van Buren is the future🔮 pic.twitter.com/RcyCEA6HSO
Even though Shapen will be back in 2025, Lebby decided to go after Jackson Arnold instead of moving forward with a quarterback competition between he and Van Buren. Arnold was recruited by and played for Lebby at Oklahoma.
As rumors swirled about the former five-star recruit and his inevitable commitment to the Bulldogs, Van Buren packed his bags. The nine-game starter hit the transfer portal on Tuesday.
Four days later, it was reported that Arnold committed to… Auburn!
A source confirms to @On3sports that Jackson Arnold's trip to Mississippi State has been called off. Locked in with Auburn.https://t.co/MiRKzikWit https://t.co/BMH5aU9L4o
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 14, 2024
Mississippi State squeezed out Michael Van Buren to make room for Jackson Arnold but Jackson Arnold did not even make it to campus for a visit. Oops!
By all accounts, the staff in Starkville is a big fan of Shapen so they will be just fine if/when he returns from injury. However, they completely whiffed on their big fish and are now in desperate need of another signal-caller to replace Van Buren.
It seems as though Mississippi State forgot the old adage, which says “two in the hand is worth one in the bush.” Lebby decided to pursue the shiny toy and got burned.