Lilly Donahue | Indiana University

If you’ve ever seen Air Bud: Golden Receiver you know that Buddy is a legit wide receiver, despite being a dog. Unlike Odell Beckham, Jr. in the post season, Buddy can consistently catch as football, so he’s already a leading WR in that category. Buddy plays with his owner, Josh, on a middle school football team in Ferfield, Washington. But what happens after the movie ends? Based on Buddy’s amazing football skills, I say he gets recruited by some of the best teams in the nation. Let’s see where Buddy ends up!

5 Star

Once Buddy got into the high school football scene, he quickly realized that his talents weren’t being properly utilized in his small town. So, like many major recruits, he transferred to a bigger, more competitive school. Buddy ditches Josh and transfers to Lake Stevens High School, where his QB is the heir to the Georgia football throne, Jacob Eason. Jake and Buddy rack up titles and yards, and Buddy becomes a hot prospect. It’s no wonder, because Buddy can catch anything thrown his way, runs 25 mph, and is hard to tackle due to his small stature. Buddy got an invite to the Opening and played in the Army All-American game. He narrowed his list down to three schools before his signing day.

Ruffcruitment (sorry)

Buddy got offers from all over, and his amazing abilities got him offers from some of the top programs in the nation. At first, he was strongly considering Washington so he could be close to Josh, but then he decided to ditch Josh, because he wanted that NFL money so he could buy all the bones in the world. His list of top schools at his signing day were Clemson, USC, and Georgia. Clemson was WRU, USC was close to home, and UGA was where his star QB, Jacob Eason, was headed. Buddy ruled out Clemson because he realized their mascot was a cat, and eliminated USC after he found out that Georgia had a live dog at all their games. On his official visit to UGA, they let him stay in the air conditioned doghouse of Uga X, and it was decided that this would be his official dorm room if he chose Georgia. On signing day, bowls of food with the three schools’ logos were placed on the ground, and Buddy ate out of the Georgia one, signifying his choice to commit to the Dawgs.

College Career

Buddy went on to have a decent career at Georgia, but he missed his old owner.  Josh had walked onto the Eastern Washington football team as a QB, and Buddy decided to transfer to be with his owner again. Buddy flourished at the school and led the Eagles to 2 FCS championships, and even won the FCS version of the Heisman, the Walter Payton Award. His acceptance speech included 3 barks and 2 woofs, and was meet with many “good boy” accolades. Buddy elected to declare for the draft after his junior year, and graduated from EWU with a degree in Hole Digging Management and a minor in Good Boy Studies. He participated in the East-West Shrine Game and was named MVD (most valuable doggo).

Pro Career

Buddy broke Chris Johnson’s NFL Combine record for the 40 yard dash, dazzling the scouts. He was a lock to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns, who, after so many awful seasons, were permanently given the first pick in the NFL draft. Buddy was picked by the Browns, and after realizing how terrible they were, he promptly retired with his signing bonus, and bought himself a mansion complete with a butler to constantly play fetch with him. NFL.com later named Buddy one of the biggest draft busts of all time, after Johnny Manziel and Ryan Leaf. Buddy briefly partnered with Nike to create a signature dog bootie, called Air Buds, but they were largely unsuccessful. Buddy became the WR coach at LSU a few years after, and now barks orders at players with the same comprehension level that they get from Ed Ogeron. A DWD arrest (driving while being a dog) ended his coaching career, and Buddy has gone downhill since. He made a brief cameo coaching in the Puppy Bowl, but was dismissed for profanity.

Look out for Dinsey’s upcoming movie- Air Bud: Washed Up, as well as the new 30 for 30, Manziel and Buddy: Crushed by Cleveland!