UW Roster Review: Buddah Bounces Back

The junior linebacker played just three games in 2025 before a knee injury ended everything.

Linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah (0) was in knee surgery recovery this spring. | Dave Sizer photo

Facing his former team in Washington State, linebacker Taariq "Buddah" Al-Uqdah was upright trading shoves with Cougars center AJ Vaipulu, his ex-teammate, on a fourth-quarter pass play when left guard Jonny Lester, another recognizable face, rolled into him -- and all of the familiarity drained out of the situation.

Three games into his University of Washington football career, Al-Uqdah took a blindside hit in the Apple Cup and was left with an anterior cruciate ligament tear to his left knee that abruptly ended his season.

So much for going home again to Pullman, where he had spent the previous three seasons with the Cougars.

Eight months later, the 5-foot-10, 236-pound junior from Los Angeles finds himself in the final stages of his recovery process and preparing for perhaps the most competitive football situation that has involved him.

Buddah Al-Uqdah was injured on his return to Pullman. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Al-Uqdah now wears No. 0, after trading in 3, and he pulled on the new shirt for the first time to watch this past Friday's Spring Game as a spectator.

At the time of his knee injury, he was considered the UW's top linebacker. He'll re-enter the competition as the fourth-best player at that position and try to move back up the ranks.

Buddah Al-Uqdah puts an open-field hit on a Colorado State player. | Dave Sizer photo

He'll join a most talented group that includes senior Jacob Manu, the 2023 Pac-12 leader in tackles; senior Xe'ree Alexander, the 2025 LA Bowl Defensive MVP; and sophomore Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, the Huskies' most touted 2025 recruit.

For Al-Uqdah, he has started over once before with the UW. Coming out of high school, he received a scholarship offer from Jimmy Lake's staff, only to have those coaches eventually pass on him, sending him to Washington State.

"Honestly, when I was in high school, Washington was one of my favorite schools," he said.

Last year, Jedd Fisch's Husky coaching staff pulled him out of the transfer portal and brought him to Montlake, rekindling the relationship between the school and an aggressive and sometimes unsung linebacker.

What he's done: He's started 20 of the 26 games he's played for the UW and WSU combined. He's piled up 131 career tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4 pass break-ups, 4 forced fumbles, 3 recovered fumbles and 4 interceptions, including a 29-yard pick-six runback against Oregon State. He makes things happen.

Starter or not: Same as the other three veteran Husky linebackers, Al-Uqdah expects to be an NFL prospect some day. He's one of three who have dealt with a recent knee repair. He's almost always been a starter in his college career. Yet with the backlog at his position, he might not reclaim a first-unit role until 2027. Either way, he'll play a lot.