Rivals250 LB Jamari Buddin Sets Commitment Date
Penn State could be two weeks away from adding another prospect to its Class of 2020, as Belleville, Mich., native Jamari Buddin tweeted Friday that he's set to announce his commitment on July 17.
A Rivals250 prospect, Buddin told Blue White Illustrated last week that he's talking to three schools regularly.
"I talk to Minnesota and [Michigan State] a lot. I also talk to Penn State a lot," he said. "Those are probably the three that communicate with me the most. They all have momentum. A lot of people think that Sparty is in the lead right now. Everyone has their own opinion, and that's fine. I love Michigan State, but I love all these schools and still have to figure some things out."
Throughout his recruitment, Buddin totaled 20 scholarship offers. The Nittany Lions offered last summer, just two weeks after he and his teammates participated in the annual Lion Strong 7-on-7 tournament. Regional recruiter Tim Banks initiated his relationship with the Penn State coaching staff. Now, he primarily speaks with defensive coordinator Brent Pry.
In April, Buddin said that his relationship with Penn State's coaching staff was the main thing that separated the Lions from its competition.
"Relationships. Definitely relationships," he said. "Coach Franklin really loves my family and so does Coach Pry. Coach Pry has broken down everything for me and has shown me why it’s important. We broke down the film the other week and looked at some of that stuff, too. We did a whole Zoom meeting with their defensive staff. It was me, my high school head coach and my dad, plus everyone on their [defensive] staff. We talked about everything and it was real cool. Franklin really likes me and that’s my guy. That was a great meeting we had."
Buddin has taken three total visits to Penn State. In addition to camp, he also attended the White Out against Michigan last October. He then returned for a junior day on Feb. 1. That ended up being the last major recruiting event for Penn State before the NCAA suspended on-campus recruiting visits.
Penn State is the projected favorite according to the Rivals.com Futurecast. After originally picking Michigan, I switched my prediction to the Nittany Lions at the end of April.
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