Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1378330
T he molds and cookie cutters of high school football prospect analysis don't 6t Jamari Buddin. Not in his view, any- way. To Buddin, the capacity to transcend labels and projections is what makes him unique. "My game, it's a lot di7erent from other linebackers," Buddin said in a phone in- terview with BWI. "Personally, I feel like I can check all boxes, as far as speed, cov- erage, tackling, pass rush. I can do all of it. There's nothing that I can't do as far as the checkmarks that come with being a linebacker. "I have the speed. I'm not like 260 [pounds] where I'm just in the box and can't run. I can run, I can cover, I can blitz, pass rush, all that good stu7." Buddin pairs his speed with skill and size, as he stands 6-foot-2, 204 pounds. He received 20 o7ers from Division I schools, including the likes of Michigan, Florida State, Michigan State and Missis- sippi. Like many young athletes, Buddin looks to elite NFL linebackers such as Khalil Mack and former greats like Ray Lewis for lessons he can apply to his cra8. He's also analyzed a pair of former Nittany Lions with the same purpose in mind: Micah Parsons and Cam Brown. "I watched their high school tapes, I watched their college tapes," Buddin said. "I just watched what they do during games, little techniques that I could use." In Brown and Parsons, speci6cally, Buddin noticed a distinct ability to dis- guise their intentions. It's never obvious what they're planning to do. That's a skill that he's tried to implement into his own game. "They kind of hide what they do," Bud- din said. "And then, it's like from 0 to 100 once they do it. It's not obvious. It's fast. It's quick, fast, and right now it's why they're so successful." To Buddin, there's a difference be- tween quickness and speed. He's confi- dent in his natural speed, but his quickness is at the top of the list of skills he wants to hone when he arrives in Uni- versity Park. Buddin committed to play for Penn State in July 2020. Rivals.com rates him as a three-star prospect, the No. 15 player in Michigan and the No. 34 outside line- backer nationally. A native of Belleville, As outside linebacker prospect, Buddin checks all the boxes CLICK HERE to see video of Buddin in action. THE BUDDIN FILE STATS Finished with 43 tackles, in- cluding eight tackles for loss and two sacks, in Belleville's nine-game 2020 season... Had 61 tackles, in- cluding 29 TFL and nine sacks, and two forced fumbles in 2019... Helped Belleville go 43-4 during his varsity career HONORS Named a three-star re- cruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 15 prospect in Michigan and No. 33 outside linebacker nationally... Was named first- team All-Con- ference by MLive, All- West De- troit by the Detroit News and All- Region Great Lakes by MaxPreps | its weren't going to happen in the sum- mer of 2020. At the time, it wasn't even clear whether anyone at the high school or college level would be playing football in the fall. But amid the uncertainty, Penn State assistants Terry Smith and Tyler Bowen developed a strong relationship with Dinkins. "I really just built a bond with all their coaches," Dinkins said. "Coach Terry was one of the 6rst coaches I really became close with. Coach Franklin was one of the 6rst head coaches to open up with me and show me what he could do with me. … It just felt like a family up there. We had to do a lot of talks on Zoom and FaceTime and stu7 like that, but I still felt the con- nection." By the fall, it was clear that Penn State was the team to beat, with Boston College and Pitt also in the mix. Dinkins and his father had planned to take a self-guided tour of Boston College at the end of Au- gust, but when that trip failed to materi- alize, the Eagles fell out of contention, leaving only the Panthers and Nittany Lions. Both schools were pursuing him hard at the end, but ultimately Franklin and his assistants did the best job of sell- ing him on his potential to excel in their system. Penn State, he said, "has done a great job producing tight ends, and that was something that really stood out to me. But also, they just bonded with me. I feel like I can talk to Terry Smith about anything. I feel like I can talk to James Franklin about anything. They care about their guys." ■