An outstanding running back during his playing days at Azusa Pacific, Ben Buys has proven himself to be among the nation’s outstanding young coaches as he enters his eighth year of coaching for his alma mater in 2017. Under his watch, the Cougars have produced an All-GNAC first team running back all five seasons of its GNAC affiliation, which began in 2012.
Buys, who ranks sixth on Azusa Pacific's all-time rushing chart and is the program's No. 2 all-time scorer, works with the Cougar running backs and serves as the program’s run game coordinator with significant input into the offensive game plan. As a coach, Buys mentored Terrell Watson, who became the program’s all-time leading rusher and scorer, shattering over 20 school and conference records during his four-year career before moving on to the NFL after graduation.
Watson, who was named the 2015 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl MVP, spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons on NFL practice squads with Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Denver before he scored a touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles in his first NFL regular-season game on Jan. 1, 2017.
Under Buys’ guidance, Azusa Pacific ranked 10th nationally in rushing offense in 2014, producing 269.3 yards per game. After Watson graduated in 2014, Buys mentored Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Kurt Scoby, who rushed for 1,108 yards to give Azusa Pacific its fifth consecutive season with a 1,000-yard rusher.
Following the 2015 season, Buys was selected to participate in the sixth annual NFL-NCAA Coaches Academy in Tampa, Fla., a three-day academy hosted by NFL Player Engagement and the NCAA to provide coaches and coaching prospects with training and education to encourage effective coaching and improve student-athlete well-being at all levels.
In addition to his work with the Cougar backfield, Buys created and oversees Azusa Pacific’s football social media coverage, oversees production of football-specific marketing materials, runs summer football camps, and wrote the program’s recruiting manual.
Despite a playing career cut a season short by injuries that also forced him to miss another eight games in a three-year span, Buys rushed for 2,516 yards in his 26-game (97.8 avg.) career from 2002 to 2004. He registered a dozen 100-yard rushing games, including a career-high 243 vs. Southern Oregon in 2003, and helped lead the Cougars to a 28-6 record, which is the best three-year run in program history.
As a 2002 redshirt freshman, he rushed for 855 yards and 16 TDs (second best single-season total to Christian Okoye's school-record 21 TDs), and followed with 996 yards and 12 TDs in just seven games of his 2003 sophomore year (he missed the final three games after suffering torn ankle ligaments on a career-long 83-yard run and certainly would have become just the seventh Cougar to rush for a 1,000 yards in a season had he been able to play another game). As a 2004 junior, he tallied 665 rushing yards on 174 carries with another nine TDs. Despite having an additional year of eligibility, the physical wear had taken its toll and Buys stepped away from the game with a school-record 37 touchdowns and 226 career points scored.
He guided the Cougars to a pair of NAIA playoff appearances, including advancement to the 2004 semifinals. He also competed in track & field for three seasons at Azusa Pacific and was a member of the Cougars' 2001 (outdoor) and 2002 (indoor) NAIA national championship teams as a triple jumper.
He came to Azusa Pacific after fashioning an all-state career at Denver (Colo.) Christian High where he set seven school records in four seasons, including 4,580 career rushing yards and 356 points.
He returned to Azusa Pacific and the game of football after spending five years as a youth pastor at a local Southern California church. In addition to his ministry work, Buys also served one season as the offensive coordinator for the eight-man football program at Pacific Lutheran High School in Torrance, Calif.
In 2007 he appeared on Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" hosted by Jeff Foxworthy.
Buys graduated from Azusa Pacific in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in youth ministry, and he earned his master's degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2012.
Buys and his wife, Carlie, also an Azusa Pacific alum, live in Azusa, with two sons, three-year old Truman and Tate, who was born this past spring.
