Al-Uqdah Gets Ready To Take Another Bite From Apple

Entering the Apple Cup, of which he has played on both sides, linebacker Taariq "Buddah" Al-Uqdah will show up for Sunday's season opener and rivalry game with a new knee, number and energy for the University of Washington football team.

A year ago, he went back to Washington State with much anticipation following his offseason transfer, to a place where he had played the three previous seasons, and the worst imaginable thing happened to him.

It was much worse than being booed, too.

In the fourth quarter, he was fending off a Cougars blocker and someone he knew when another WSU player rolled up on him from behind, again someone he was familiar with, and he was sandwiched, tore up his knee and was done for the season after just three games.

It was nothing malicious, just his bad luck in his old haunts.

"I wouldn't say I got ripped off," said Al-Uqdah, who has watched the fateful replay a few times. "I think we had a plan to go in there and win and that's all that matters at the end of the day. It was unfortunate how it happened, but it is what it is. It's football. Stuff happens."

In this case, he went from the Huskies' No. 1 linebacker to now the fourth guy in a star-studded Husky rotation.

This game will culminate his 12-month recovery from the first major injury of his career that proved arduous at times.

"It was a real process at first," he said. "Obviously, I'd never done that before, so the whole recovery was pain and all type of stuff. I just tried to make sure I kept the right mindset. I kind of used the training room as a happy place for me."

Buddah Al-Uqdah warms up for the fall camp mock game. | Dave Sizer photo

Al-Uqdah, who switched from No. 3 to 0 in making his return, oddly will appear in first game alongside fellow Husky linebackers Jacob Manu and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who were injured while he was healthy and played for the UW for the first time after he was sidelined.

Add Xe'ree Alexander into the mix, and these four bring a combined 72 college starts to their position, which is unusual to say the least.

"I would definitely say the amount of snaps that we all have, a lot of us have played a lot of football," Al-Uqdah said. "I would say that just makes it a lot different. Guys are experienced. Communication is easier. ... We're talking football and everybody kind of knows what they're doing."

Buddah Al-Uqdah is back after injuring his knee in the 2025 Apple Cup. | Dave Sizer photo

As he eases back into the football regimen, and plays in his fourth Apple Cup, he doesn't feel the same anticipation he had 12 months ago when the former Cougar defensive stalwart went home to face his ex-teammates.

"Not much this year; I'm really just focused on going in there and getting a 'W' and doing what I can to help the team win," the man named Buddah said. "I feel good, pretty much I'm ready to go, ready to play. My approach is being as healthy as possible."

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