Three things to know about Rutgers’ new DC Andy Buh
1-11 is now just a memory for Rutgers’ football program and their fans. Hope is bright for this young squad, with promising changes coming on the horizon. After firing defensive coordinator Jay Niemann, who had Rutgers D reach a #69th overall ranking in 2018, according to NCAA.com, head coach Chris Ash has decided to go with someone with much more experience coaching in FBS, something Niemann lacked coming into this job in 2016.
On January 5th, N.J.com wrote that Rutgers was set to hire Maryland Terrapins D.C. Andy Buh to the same position. Buh’s work with the Terrapins defense over the past three years speaks for itself, taking them from a 90th overall ranking in 2016 to 63rd in 2018. Their rushing defense ranked 85th overall in the nation. Compared to Rutgers 108th ranking in that category, that’s a drastic improvement.
But there is so much more to Coach Buh than just his time with the Terrapins. Here are three things to now about Rutgers’ new Defensive Coordinator:
1. Decorated JUCO linebacker
According to the Palomar College Comets student-athlete profile page, Buh was a “…first-team J.C. Grid-Wire All-American linebacker for Palomar under coach Tom Craft as a sophomore after he helped lead Craft's Comets to the J.C. Grid-Wire 1991 national community college championship as a freshman.”
Photo Credit: palomar.edu
From there, Buh received a scholarship offer to the University of Nevada, became a first-team all-conference selection, garnering him a graduate assistant position with Wolf Pack from 1997-1998, then promoted to Nevada's defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator in 1999.
2. A lifetime of coaching experience
Buh has 21 years of college coaching experience under his belt. Some of his more notable tenures have been under current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
During Harbaugh’s head coaching tenures at the University of San Diego and Stanford, Buh was the Toreros’ linebacker coach from 2002-2005. After a brief stint at Fresno State, Boh followed Harbaugh to Stanford to become the Cardinals’ linebackers’ coach in 2007, then elevated to co-defensive coordinator along with Ron Lynn from 2008-2009.
Photo Credit: allkentuckysports.com
3. Buh-Ash Wisconsin roots
Coach Ash’s connection to Buh stems from their time with the Wisconsin Badgers in 2012. Ash was a co-defensive coordinator for the Badgers, with Buh as his linebackers coach. During their one year together, Wisconsin compiled an 8-6 record (4-4 in conference), won the Big 10 title and made it to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Stanford and Buh’s former head coach, Jim Harbaugh.
During that time, Wisconsin’s defense was ranked 15th in the nation (24th against the run, 18th against the pass), with future NFL players like cornerback Devin Smith and linebacker Chris Borland manning the unit.
If these two can build up that same chemistry they had in Wisconsin with the Scarlet Knights, who knows where this defense can go.
By Juan Pablo Guarin-Camargo