Buddah Al-Uqdah ‘Loves the Setting,’ Happy to Be a Husky After Transfer From Washington State
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4257"]
Washington Huskies linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah practices Saturday, April 5 at Husky Stadium. Credit: Aaron Coe/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. - Buddah Al-Uqdah knew he was going to hear about it.
You don’t transfer to a rival in the same state - especially for two schools that used to be conference foes and now have had their rivalry impacted by conference realignment - and expect everyone to support the move. Some former teammates and even some Washington State fans understood the junior linebacker’s decision to transfer to cross-state rival Washington. Others, well, not so much.
“You’ve got some people that don’t like it, and others that stick with you regardless, you know, your real friends,” said Al-Uqdah, who recorded six tackles when WSU upset Washington in the 2024 Apple Cup. “My guys, who I rock with, they were happy for me, regardless. They understood.”
Coaching changes have played a large role in Al-Uqdah’s movement between the state rivals. Washington was a “dream school” when he was at City Honors College Prep High School in Los Angeles. An offer from Jimmy Lakes’ Huskies staff became fuzzy when Lake was fired. He chose Washington State, but made the decision to leave in part because of head coach Jake Dickert’s departure to Wake Forest following the 2024 season.
“[UW] really felt like home,” Al-Uqdah said after Saturday’s practice, the first in full pads. “And it was one of the biggest stages, if not the biggest stage, being here. I, you know, I love the setting.”
Though first-year Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters was hired after Al-Uqdah’s transfer, he likes what he’s seen from the 6-0, 232-pound linebacker so far. Al-Uqdah has intercepted both starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and likely backup Kai Horton in practice. He’s been in on the run game, making his presence known often by his new teammates if they had forgotten about last year’s Apple Cup.
Tasked with helping to replace graduated former starters Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tupatala, who both spent six years in the program, Walters has been impressed with early performance from Al-Uqdah on the practice field.
“Buddah is very instinctual, and I think he’s leading the team in takeaways,” Walters said. “The production at Washington State, you see why. He just has a natural feel for the game and being able to find the football.”
The Huskies seemed happy to put on the pads for the first time this spring. Though they’re on the same team, the defensive and offensive units tried to outperform each other, and let each other know when they got the better of the other side. Though things quickly dissipated during the sounds of a whistle being blown over and over again, it got a little chippy a few times. Safety Rahim Wright Jr. got into it with receiver Marcus Harris for a moment, and receiver Chris Lawson mixed it up with cornerback Caleb Pressley.
“There was a lot of good back and forth today, which is what you want to see from a program in its totality,” Walter said. “… Collectively, I think they’re doing a good job, and we’re on pace of where we need to be.”
Tacario Davis, who played for Washington head coach Jedd Fisch at Arizona, is another offseason addition after waiting a year to follow his former head coach. Like Al-Uqdah, he came to Washington with the belief that it was best for his aspirations of playing in the NFL. He believes Walters and defensive backs coach John Richardson will help the team this year and his career going forward.
“You just got to be a complete defensive back,” the 6-4, 200-pound cornerback said. “We don’t really have a corner. If you come here, you have to be a complete defensive back. You’ve got to play it all. You’ve got to be physical and compete.”
Freshman gets some line time
Champ Taulealea, a 6-5, 330-pound true freshman guard, saw some time with the first-team offensive line at Saturday’s practice. Four of the spots have remained largely the same, with left tackle Carver Willis, left guard Paki Finau, center Landen Hatchett, and right tackle Drew Azzopardi taking the majority of the practice reps. Right guard has seen some rotation. Zach Henning spent much of Tuesday’s practice in that spot, and Geirean Hatchett rotated in more on Thursday. Both have also appeared on the No. 2 line at center. Thursday was the massive freshman’s chance for some No. 1 reps.
Hit of the Day
In the first day of pads, it was 6-4, 306-pound Anterio Thompson who delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon, crashing through the offensive line and dumping redshirt freshman running back Jordan Washington for a loss. The transfer from Western Michigan drew some woofing from his teammates.
"He’s definitely a mature young man and recognizes the opportunity he has," Walters said. "He’s acting accordingly, so that's been good for us. The explosion and power and agility that you see in him running around cones and lifting weights in the weight room is translating to the field."
