Tag: Jamari Buddin

Penn State Football: 2022-2023 transfer portal departures tracker

Let’s take an updated look at the Penn State football transfer portal tracker.

The NCAA’s transfer portal is a game-changer for players and more and more players seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity to explore all of their options. Penn State has been a program that has sent a number of players to other schools by way of the transfer portal, some with more success than others, but the Nittany Lions have also caught on to the importance of tapping talent from the transfer portal to plug some holes on the roster.

Penn State head coach James Franklin has expressed his growing concerns over the way the transfer portal is treated by programs around the country, and how the pressure to focus on just football impacts the whole process. He’s not necessarily wrong on that account, but he may also b a bit frustrated knowing every year his program will lose players through the whole process when he can be focusing his energy on preparing for a bowl game or the early signing period on the recruiting calendar.

Here is a look at each player from Penn State’s roster that has been announced or been reported to be in the NCAA transfer portal.

Former Penn State LB Jamari Buddin announces transfer decision

Former Penn State linebacker has announced his transfer portal destination

After exploring all of his options in the transfer portal, former Penn State linebacker [autotag]Jamari Buddin[/autotag] has decided where he will be continuing his college football career. In a message posted on his social media account on Wednesday, Buddin announced he will be transferring to New Mexico State University.

“Thank you to all the coaches who have reached out and gave me another opportunity to pursue my dream,” Buddin said in a message posted to his Twitter account on Wednesday. “[It] has been a long and stressful process and I have spent a lot of time thinking about what’s best for my future, but after much prayer, I have decided to further my academic and athletic career at New Mexico State University.”

Buddin has three seasons of eligibility left to put to use at New Mexico State, an FBS independent school. The former four-star linebacker recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2021 should have a good opportunity to find a bigger role in the defense with New Mexico State, and he has plenty of potential to be a breakout player with his new teammates.

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Penn State linebacker Jamari Buddin enters transfer portal

Penn State linebacker enters transfer portal.

Penn State has good reason to feel great about its situation at linebacker in 2023, but the depth chart may be about to take a slight hit. [autotag]Jamari Buddin[/autotag] announced he has decided to enter the transfer portal to evaluate his options.

“Being at Penn State has been nothing short of amazing. I can’t thank Coach Franklin and the staff for giving me an opportunity to further my academic and athletics career at one of the most prestigious schools in the country,” Buddin said in his released statement on Twitter.

“After reflecting on my time here at Penn State, it is in my best interest that I enter the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility remaining.”

Buddin appeared in eight games for the Nittany Lions in 2022, in which he recorded eight tackles with 1.5 TFL. Buddin appeared in four games as a true freshman in 2021.

Buddin was a four-star recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2021. As he states, he will have three years of eligibility to put to use wherever he ends up. The Michigan native originally chose Penn State over offers from Michigan, Maryland, Michigan State and more.

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2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ linebacker preview

Penn State position overview: Linebacker roster overview for 2022

Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.

Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. When that season begins, the Nittany Lions will begin to answer whether or not the linebacker depth is truly a concern for the upcoming year. After losing a pair of starters from last year’s team, Penn State has some big spots to fill at the program’s signature position.

Here is a look at what Penn State has on the roster at the linebacker position going into the 2022 season.

Penn State snapshot profile: No. 42 Jamari Buddin

Jamari Buddin will be a young linebacker to keep an eye on in 2022 for Penn State. Snapshot profile…

Going into the 2022 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] this season.

Penn State’s linebackers will be a big question for the defense going into the 2022 season, but there are some younger players on the roster who could take some steps forward in their development. One of those players will be [autotag]Jamari Buddin[/autotag], a redshort freshman from Michigan who appeared in a small handful of games last season. Here is a snapshot profile of Buddin, who could be one of the top backup options on the roster this fall.

Who will play linebacker for Penn State in the Outback Bowl vs Arkansas?

Here are a few options on how Penn State could plug the starting linebacker holes vs. Arkansas in the Outback Bowl

Penn State’s nickname of Linebacker-U will be put to the test in the Outback Bowl after its top two linebackers have opted out of the bowl season to begin preparing for the 2022 NFL draft cycle. Days after Brandon Smith announced his decision to pass on the bowl game and declare for the NFL draft, Ellis Brooks has joined him in making the transition to the pros. And with both players choosing to not play in the Outback Bowl, Penn State is now in need of plugging two starting linebacker holes without a ton of experience or roster flexibility to work with.

Penn State has fielded its defense with three linebackers with Smith playing the WILL, Brooks lining up in the middle and Curtis Jacobs manning the SAM linebacker position. Finding a replacement for Smith appeared to be pretty straightforward before the news of Brooks opting out broke because Charlie Katshir could just be moved up a spot on the depth chart to fill the gap for the bowl game. And that may end up still being the solution Penn State goes with.

But what happens in the middle? This is where things can get a little dicey. Jesse Luketa has been moved around the defense this season and could be the best option to fill in at the vacant linebacker spot, although he has been having success at defensive end this season, and James Franklin and defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter may want to keep Luketa on the edge if they can. But if Luketa is playing on the line of scrimmage, then Penn State doesn’t have a lot of experienced options remaining at its disposal.

Kobe King would be making a huge leap up the depth chart to be a starter in the bowl game against Arkansas, as would Tyler Elsdon or Jamari Buddin. Jonathan Sutherland could be used to fill in at the position, or he could move to the SAM position and Jacobs slide over to cover the middle of the defense.

Or Luketa could be used primarily as a linebacker and Nick Tarburton could be used more on the edge against the Razorbacks. Of course, this could all change if we learn that anyone on Penn State’s defensive line will follow Smith and Brooks in their decisions to opt out to focus on the NFL. The name to watch here would be Arnold Ebiketie, who is coming off an incredible season after transferring from Temple that has seen him continue to improve his own draft stock along the way.

No matter how Penn State shakes it, replacing its top two tacklers for the bowl game with 181 combined tackles between Brooks and Smith is not easy to do. If Luketa is not an option, Penn State is looking to fill the two spots with players that may have a combined total of 23 tackles this season between the four possibilities mentioned (Katshir, Elsdon, Buddin, and King).

On the other side of the football, Penn State head coach James Franklin has not commented on the status of wide receiver Jahan Dotson, Penn State’s top pro prospect on the board for the 2022 NFL draft if he declares now. Penn State also has some other players to keep an eye on with the defense in safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields. Both are heading off to the next level after returning to Penn State in 2021, but whether or not they play in the final game of their college careers remains to be confirmed.

Penn State faces Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday, January 1, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. We’ll see who is left to take the field for either team.

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Penn State jersey numbers for new football players

Penn State has updated the jersey numbers for freshmen football players and some new transfer players

While some programs may play some offseason gimmicks of forcing players to earn their jersey number or a helmet decal, Penn State doesn’t mess around with such uniform motivations. And on Friday, Penn State confirmed the jersey numbers to be worn by every incoming freshman or transfer player being added to the roster this fall.

Penn State has already given some new players an official jersey number, including those who enrolled early and participated in spring football. But a couple of new additions to the program this summer now have their official jersey numbers as well.

Here’s a look at the official jersey numbers for a number of the newest Nittany Lions;

  • No. 4 – CB Kalen King
  • No. 6 – CB Zakee Wheatley
  • No. 7 – S Jaylen Reed
  • No. 9 – QBΒ  Christian Veilleux
  • No. 14 – CB A.J. Lytton
  • No. 17 – TE Khalil Dinkins
  • No. 18 – DE Davon Townley Jr.
  • No. 24 – CB Jeffrey Davis Jr.
  • No. 28 – LB Dominic Deluca
  • No. 41 – LB Kobe King
  • No. 42 – LB Jamari Buddin
  • No. 52 – DT Jordan Van Den Berg
  • No. 58 – OL Landon Tengwall
  • No. 68 – OL Eric Wilson
  • No. 82 – WR Liam Clifford
  • No. 85 – WR Harrison Wallace III
  • No. 90 – DE Rodney McGraw
  • No. 94 – K Sander Sahaydak

Penn State will begin preseason camp on August 6. Penn State’s season opener will be played on September 4 at Wisconsin. The game will be FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

Helmet sticker to Lions 247.

FollowΒ Nittany Lions Wire on TwitterΒ andΒ like us on FacebookΒ for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Mark Staten said whaaaat?!

Plus, another round of the game about a game.

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Wil and Matt talk about former MSU assistant Mark Staten’s comments about no longer getting to play MSU now that he is at Toledo. Then they play another round of Matt’s game about a game and take some listener questions.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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MSU Football recruiting target, Detroit native Jamari Buddin commits to Penn State

Detroit native and major Michigan State recruiting target Jamari Buddin has committed to Penn State.

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Well, this one hurts. Michigan State Football has had the full-court press on Jamari Buddin for months now, trying to do everything possible to recruit the 4-star Detroit-area standout, but it was all for naught. The Belleville High School linebacker announced today that he will be committing to Penn State in 2021, closing the chapter on the chances that he would stay in-state.

Penn State has had a lot of success recruiting in Detroit these past few years, and the Buddin story is just another example of why Michigan State needs a strong recruiter like Mel Tucker to come in and re-establish MSU as a top recruiter in Detroit. As of right now, Penn State and Michigan have really been the lead recruiters for top talent in Detroit and I would suspect that this a huge topic of conversation among the Michigan State staff.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: Mel Tucker looks incredible in a mask

Michigan State football is back . . . sort of.

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Wil and Matt talk about the MSU football team starting organized team activities. Then they dig into some recruiting news and play Matt’s game about a game.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

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