Inside The Huskies

UW Missed on Al-Uqdah, Then Got It Right With Him

The WSU transfer makes the 51-player Butkus watch list.
Dan Raley|
Buddah Al-Uqdah always wanted to play for the UW.
Buddah Al-Uqdah always wanted to play for the UW. | Skylar Lin Visuals

One of the reasons a University of Washington football coaching change was necessary in 2021 and never really discussed out loud was this: for the most part, Jimmy Lake and his coaches weren't very good recruiters.

They signed a lot of people who didn't pan out, didn't last long in Montlake, didn't last long anywhere.

With Taariq "Buddah" Al-Uqdah, they only got it half right -- Lake's staff offered a scholarship to the 6-foot, 232-pound linebacker from Los Angeles, but didn't follow up and close the deal, ultimately passing on Al-Uqdah and sending him to Washington State.

"Honestly, when I was in high school, Washington was one of my favorite schools," Al-Uqdah said. "So when I got that offer, it was pretty surreal. I was interested in it, but, of course, it really didn't carry out like that." 

Of course, after a three-year stay in Pullman, Al-Uqdah ultimately ended up with the Huskies and Lake's coaches at least can pat themselves on the back for initially having the right instincts about the guy.

On Wednesday, the junior was named to the Butkus Award watch list, which makes him one of the top 51 linebackers nationwide, including a dozen from the Big Ten.

New UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters immediately took a liking to Al-Uqdah this spring, installing him as an immovable starter.

"He's as instinctual as any of the guys I've been around at that position," Walters said before fall camp opened.

As far as that talent goes, the man called Buddah offered sort of a homespun explanation for his football intuitiveness.

"I think you sort of never lose that as a kid coming up," he said. "It's like backyard football. You kind of know, as you learn it, you can't lose that. It's what keeps you going."

While it's 30 days until he makes his Husky debut against Colorado State, Al-Uqdah doesn't shy away from another event that doesn't leave his mind.

He's 52 days from going back to the Palouse and playing against WSU, his old team.

"I think about it a lot," Al-Uqdah said. "I'm excited to go back for sure. It'll be fun for sure."

That's not only instinctual, it's a bit sentimental for one of the better linebackers nationwide.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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