All 105 is aย Nittanyย Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at redshirt freshman linebacker Jamari Buddin
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 218 pounds
Hometown: Ypsilanti, Michiganย
Before Penn State:ย Buddin helped his team to three district championships and a combined 37-4 record over his four seasons at Belleville High School.
In 2020, Belleville finished a perfect 9-0, and Buddin ended the season with 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks.
Buddin was a three-star recruit according to 247Sportsโ composite ratings, and committed to Penn State in July of 2020.
2021:ย Like most of Penn Stateโs true freshmen, Buddin redshirted his first college season.
He did play in four games, ending the season with four total tackles, and also contributed on special teams.
Where he stands:ย Buddin is unproven at the college level, but so is most of Penn Stateโs linebacking corps.
Aside from Curtis Jacobs, none of Penn Stateโs linebackers have been regular starters at the position in college.
In Manny Diazโs defense, Jonathan Sutherland will be the โstriker,โ a linebacker-hybrid safety that coordinator Mannyย Diaz installsย in his defenses.
This gives Buddin and true freshman Abdul Carter added opportunity for playing time at the WILL linebacker position.
Considering Penn Stateโs unproven position group and Diazโsย goal to play 22 guys by the end of the first quarter, Buddin should see a good deal of playing time in year two.
A quote about Buddin:ย โJamariโs a passionate, aggressive and explosive football player,โ Buddinโs high school coach, Jermain Crowell, said before Buddin came to Penn State in 2021. โHe can be real calm, cool and collected off the field, but on the field heโs a disruptor and a playmaker.
โWhen the lights come on is when he plays his best.โ
