The next Byrum Brown? 2 quarterbacks on display in USF’s spring game
USF junior quarterback junior Luke Kromenhoek is in a friendly but highly competitive quarterback battle with Michael Van Buren Jr. ©Scott Purks It was called a spring football game, but really was more like a highly-organized practice with a lot of cool music and several thousand fans cheering Sunday at USF’s Corbett Stadium. The energy was certainly high, boosted by the towering scaffolding of the Bulls’ new stadium rising in the background (to open in 2027), new coach Brian Hartline (from Ohio State), 41 new players (from the transfer portal) and several top returners (from last year’s squad that finished 9-4 overall, 6-2 in the American Conference).
Perhaps more than anything, Sunday was a chance to display the top contenders for starting quarterback: Michael Van Buren Jr. and Luke Kromenhoek. They’re vying to replace Byrum Brown, who transferred to Auburn after becoming the first 3,000-yard passer in Bulls history.
Neither Van Buren nor Kromenhoek disappointed. While official statistics weren’t kept, both Van Buren and Kromenhoek made mostly good decisions, threw sharp passes and showed plenty of leadership chops — none of which was lost on Hartline. “The quarterbacks are doing a great job and I think we’ll have a quarterback battle for a while,” Hartline said of Van Buren (6 feet, 190 pounds, Mississippi State/LSU) and Kromenhoek (6-4, 220, Florida State/Mississippi State), both rated as four-star recruits out of high school.
“One of the most encouraging parts is that they are encouraging each other. … They both want to be the best quarterback in the conference. ” The quarterback competition is so tight that Hartline wouldn’t rule out a possible two-quarterback situation in the fall.
“It will come down to whatever is best for the team,” Hartline said. “If two guys earn the right to play football then that is part of the conversation. But it starts with the team, what’s best for the team.