Mississippi State fans are excited for future with Michael Van Buren at quarterback

Mississippi State football suffered a 35-13 loss to the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. The Bulldogs fought hard for much of the game against the nation's top-ranked team, but the Longhorns ultimately pulled away for a comfortable victory.

State fans overall were pleased with the effort they saw from their squad in a tough spot against Texas, but one player in particular got them looking forward to the future.

True freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren made his first start for the Bulldogs on Saturday. The former 4-star signee and Under Armour All-American Game MVP stepped-in for the injured Blake Shapen, who is done for the year as a result of an injury suffered last week against Florida.

Despite a difficult first matchup and a struggling team around him, Van Buren made believers out of Mississippi State fans.

Bulldog fans see Michael Van Buren as the future face of the program

Michael Van Buren's stats from his first start don't jump off the page. He completed 12/23 passes for 144 yards and recorded a rushing touchdown. Most of State's offensive success came in the run game which, despite his rushing score, Van Buren wasn't heavily involved in. But the stats don't tell the whole story for what was a strong first start for the young QB.

Van Buren looked comfortable operating Jeff Lebby's offense. He was decisive and just seemed like a natural fit for the system. He had multiple deep balls that could've been completed before connecting on this shot into tight coverage to Mario Craver in the face of pressure. His arm talent was obvious.

While he wasn't heavily used on designed runs, he did a good job of extending plays with his legs and easily scampered for this score late in the game.

Van Buren showed Mississippi State fans enough that they're bought-in for him as the future leader of the program.

He certainly didn't have a perfect day. He was off on a few throws and took multiple delay of games due to issues getting the play call translated to the offense. He also took six sacks, fumbling on one of them, though that was much more his offensive line's fault than his own. But as a true freshman, you expect some of those mistakes. He still showed more than enough potential to be excited for what's to come.

We'll see what the rest of the season has in store for Michael Van Buren, but today was a good start. And he's got the MSU fanbase behind him. Of course, when you drop a horns down right in the face of the opposing fans right after scoring a touchdown, you can pretty easily get your own fanbase on your side...