Who is “Buddha?” Some people would say he’s the short, chubby man whose belly you rub for good luck.

At Sacramento State, however, teammates say he’s the tall one who patrols the area between senior goalie Matt McDougall and All-League defender Utodi Madu on the soccer field. He’s the one who hasn’t decided if he wants to go into business administration ?” following the path of his parents who own their own business ?” or study kinesiology and stay in the field of sports. He’s the one who hopes to change the face of the men’s soccer program, without all of the belly rubbing.

He is freshman Jeff Buddenbohn, the most prized recruit that Hornet men’s soccer has seen, but if you were to ask him he’d tell you that he’s just one of nine freshmen trying to contribute to this season’s squad.

“That’s just the way he is,” said Madu, a team captain. “He’s willing to do anything to help the team win.”

Buddenbohn is about as humble as he is talented at playing soccer. College Soccer News recently named Buddenbohn as “one of the top 100 freshmen to keep an eye on.” Last season at St. Francis High School in Sierra Madre, Calif., Buddenbohn was All-Everything: All-America, All-State, All-League and was named Player of the Year by three Southern California publication. He’s won tournaments, league championships and more; he’s been invited to play for regional teams and has even participated in the Under-18 U.S. National Team Camp in Carson, Calif.

So how does he react when asked about his accomplishments?

“That’s all in the past; none of that means anything for what I’m trying to accomplish here,” Buddenbohn quickly responds with a straight face while continuing to twirl a football while sitting on the athletic department’s couch.

Buddenbohn was born in Pasadena, Calif., before moving to Sierra Madre, where he lived with his parents, Robert and Louise, and his sister Jamie, who now attends Chico State. It was in Sierra Madre at the age of 13 when Buddenbohn began to realize that he had a special talent.

“When I made my first regional team was probably when I first realized that I was really good at this,” he said.

It was at the regional level that Buddenbohn met Hornet coach Mike Linenberger during a two-week summer camp and 10-day tour of Germany. Having teamed together at different levels, the two of them have great respect for each other as a person and for their soccer knowledge and abilities.

“I played for Mike a few years ago on a regional team,” Buddenbohn said. “He’s just a great guy and a great teacher of the game, and I enjoy playing for him.”

Linenberger is equally excited to have the freshman on his team.

“He’s a great player as well as a great guy and those are the kind of people that we want to attract and have playing for our program,” Linenberger said.

Buddenbohn also has a great amount of respect for his new teammates.

In February, Buddenbohn signed his letter of intent, making him the first high school All-American to sign with the Hornets, but he said there’s no pressure to perform just yet.

“That’s the great thing about this year’s team,” the physical 6-foot-5 freshman said. “I’ve got an All-League goalie (McDougall) behind me and an All-League defender (Madu) in front of me and we’ve got a team that can compete.”

However, Buddenbohn expects more than simply a respectable finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

“My goal is to get this team into the NCAA National Tournament and help this program turn some heads in the process,” he said.

That process may have begun.

On Sept. 5, he helped lead the Hornets past Oregon State, its first victory over a Pacific-10 Conference foe since 1999. Now, Buddenbohn and the Hornets are out to prove they can compete with the likes of New Mexico and Denver in league play.

The Hornets take on Adelphi in the Long Island Tournament, Friday in New York.

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Tyler Stalker can be reached at [email protected]