MLive is spending the spring checking in on the top 2021 football recruits in Michigan. Each weekday, MLive will feature a new athlete and get updates on their recruitment, goals and more. Today, Belleville linebacker Jamari Buddin is featured.
Belleville’s Jamari Buddin (17) is held back by a coach during a game at Dearborn Fordson High School in Dearborn, Mich., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.
Jamari Buddin celebrated his 17th birthday last weekend in low-key fashion. That was primarily a product of the coronavirus COVID-19 stay-at-home order, but it’s also his style.
Get the Belleville High School junior on a football field, however, and you’ll see quite the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” transformation, according to Tigers coach Jermain Crowell.
“Off the field, he’s more mild-mannered, you know – kind of easy going. But once that switch is hit, he’s a different person. Like, you wouldn’t know him,” Crowell said. “He’s an animal. He goes into savage mode. He’s a different kind of kid.”
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Buddin is a four star-rated outside linebacker, one of the top prospects in Michigan for the Class of 2021. He’s being pursued by Michigan and Michigan State, both of which were among the cut of final-seven schools he announced recently.
Crowell, who has coached more than his share of top-level prospects as Belleville’s head coach and also as an assistant at Detroit Cass Tech, considers Buddin a high school All-American-level talent.
If you’re wondering how one person can maintain such differing personalities on and off the field, then a peek into his upbringing might help explain.
He’s been raised by young parents, who were assisted by grandparents, and he bounced from apartment to apartment at a young age. His mother has battled cancer and suffered pneumonia and strokes. She continues to face complications from the second stroke, including aphasia and an amputated arm, yet she endures.
Jamari is deeply loved as well as inspired and driven by his parents. He said he remembers the struggle when he was a young boy. They’re the reason he carries himself with such maturity in the home and a chip on his shoulder on the gridiron. Ultimately, he’s driven to make a success of his life so that he can take care of them someday.
“I show a lot of passion when I’m on the field and a lot of people would say that it’s a (bad) attitude. That’s not necessarily the case,” Buddin said. “Everybody shows their passion for the game in different ways and I personally share mine with rage and yelling, getting all excited, talking trash, everything like that.
“That’s how I show my passion, that’s how I show everybody that I’ve been out here working year-round for four years, man, to get me to this point. Nobody’s stopping me.”
MORE: MLive’s Top 50 football recruits in Michigan for 2021
Athlete bio
Height: 6-foot-3.
Weight: 205 pounds.
Primary position: OLB.
Other position: TE.
Year: 2021.
Scholarship offers: Arkansas, Cincinnati, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Toledo, Western Michigan.
Rated: 4-star prospect. Ranked No. 9 overall in Michigan for the Class of 2021, according to the 247Sports composite.
Commitment: Uncommitted.
2019 stats: Defense – 61 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 18 QB pressures, 7 pass breakups. Receiving: 1 catch, 8 yards, TD.
Overcoming as a family
Parents Erick and Allison Buddin were 18 and 17 years old, respectively, when Jamari was born. Much like Jamari is trying to decide his college future now, they were trying to navigate college and raise a child when they were about his age.
Erick Buddin walked on to the football team at Saginaw Valley State University before he ended up transferring to Bluffton University in Ohio, where he played defensive back and earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management. Grandparents helped Allison raise Jamari while Erick was in college, then Erick returned and Allison continued her pursuit of a nursing degree.
“We’re extremely proud of him, just seeing the growth. It wasn’t easy, you know, us being (young) parents,” said Erick Buddin, 35, who makes a living by auditing car dealerships throughout the state for banks such as General Motors and Chrysler.
“We’re really fortunate and blessed to have a lot of support. At the same time, definitely not easy, but he’s seen a lot, you know, jumping from apartment to apartment and different schools. He’s grown with us as we went through teens to young adults to adults – he’s been right there.”
Belleville junior linebacker Jamari Buddin poses for a photo with parents Erick and Allison Buddin after the Tigers' 27-22 Division 1 regional finals win over West Bloomfield on Nov. 15, 2019, at Belleville High School. (Courtesy of Buddin family)
Allison Buddin was diagnosed with kidney cancer when she was 12 years old. Her left kidney was removed, and by age 15, she had beaten the cancer. She was in remission when Jamari was born.
Erick Buddin said that Allison suffered a minor stroke about four years ago. A couple years ago, she fell victim to pneumonia, found unconscious upstairs in their home. An ambulance rushed her to Saint Joseph Mercy hospital.
“They had to sedate her, they had to put her in an induced coma, paralyze the body. And then she still wasn’t doing really well from there – (the pneumonia was) really just attacking all her organs in her body, shutting everything down. So they transferred her to U-M (hospital),” Erick Buddin said.
“While she was still in an induced coma, she suffered a stroke and the stroke collapsed two arteries in her right arm and they were just never able to bring them back and she never really recovered from that, so they had to amputate a good portion of her right arm – almost from her elbow on down.”
The second stroke caused aphasia, which is an impairment of language that affects the production or comprehension of speech as well as the ability to read or write. Allison underwent speech and physical therapy at U-M for a year, but Erick said that their insurance would not cover anything after that.
Jamari said that his mother, now 34, still struggles with things from an emotional standpoint as well.
“That’s a big impact. I know how much it hurts her that she can’t do the same things right now. There will be nights where she cries. I can’t see her like that,” he said. “She cried on my birthday, too.”
As has always been the case, the Buddins help each other through the tough times. During a recent phone interview with MLive, Erick joined Allison on the call and helped her through it.
If anything, the stay-at-home order from the COVID-19 pandemic has afforded the Buddins more time together as a family, which also includes Jamar’s sisters, Madison (10) and Taylor (2).
“Real good. It’s real good. It’s been great,” Allison said.
“I’m very proud of him,” she said about Jamari, growing emotional.
Belleville junior Jamari Buddin, back, poses for a family photo with parents Erick and Allison Buddin and sisters Madison (10) and Taylor (2). (Courtesy of the Buddin family)
Tough decision on the horizon
Jamari Buddin said he still has not made a decision on which college he would like to attend, although he admitted it could come soon. He noted that certain schools are currently in the lead group as he seeks “that perfect fit,” though he did not name them.
As for instate schools Michigan and Michigan State, he speaks of both in glowing terms.
“I grew up watching the instate schools. Great people, great fan bases, great school, great staff, great players – great everything, you know,” he said. “You can just keep going down the list of things they have for me. Both schools have a plan for me, both schools (are recruiting him) at an important position on the field for them. I know people at both of those schools, they’re not too far from home. I can keep going, you know. They’re great fits for me – it’s hard decisions, man.”
The 247Sports Crystal Ball panel lists Michigan as a heavy favorite for Buddin, although he also seems to be impressed with the attention MSU and its new staff is showing him.
Being a highly-rated recruit comes with much pressure, but Erick Buddin says he’s really proud of how his son has handled all the attention – texts and phone calls from coaches recruiting him, as well as media interviews. Erick said he tries to step back and allow Jamari to build relationships with the coaches and staffs he feels most comfortable, but as a parent he’s there for moral support.
‘Freak athlete’ with big plans
Crowell said that Jamari Buddin, who will be entering his third full season on the Belleville varsity team this fall, possesses All-American ability. Buddin has length and strength, and teammate Deion Burks said he’s also got that “chip on his shoulder.”
Erick and Allison Buddin both laughed when the “Jekyll and Hyde” comparison was brought up for their son’s demeanor on and off the field.
“That pretty much sums it up. I think that’s a pretty good assessment,” Erick said.
“He’s a whole new savage,” Allison interjected with a giggle.
Penn State prospect Jamari Buddin visits for the Michigan game on Oct. 19, 2019. (Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com)
Jamari is listed as an outside linebacker, but he said he can play any of the linebacker spots as well as a hybrid safety type of position.
Belleville is losing a couple of Division I talents from its defensive secondary, including Andre Seldon, who was an early enrollee at Michigan, and Akron signee Ronald Jackson. But the Tigers, who have advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals each of the past two seasons, return their front seven virtually intact.
Buddin is an anchor for that defense and Crowell anticipates a big senior season.
“It would surprise me if he don’t make All-American,” the coach said. “A freak athlete. Big, strong, fast. Super aggressive, super competitive. Kid wants to win like every down. I think he’s going to excel, not only just on this level but on the next level.”
Buddin said he has been working out at home during the pandemic, as his family has a full weight set and space in his yard to get stuff done. Meanwhile, he’s been keeping in contact with Belleville coaches and teammates via periodic Zoom video conferences.
He remains laser-focused on the big picture: Picking a great college from his many options, having a strong career at said college and making it to the NFL. That’s the goal.
“It’s never enough, you know,” he said. “I’m trying to make my kids rich, trying to make their kids rich and next generation of kids rich and carry on the family tradition – that’s what I’m trying to do with my life, man.”
Belleville's Jamari Budden (17) tackles Livonia Churchill's Brendan Lowry (5) during a game at Belleville High School on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018. (Ben Allan Smith | MLive.com) Photos by Ben Allan Smith
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