Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Abdulqaadir Overcomes Life's Obstacles
10/23/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Oct. 23, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
Muhammad Abdulqaadir makes running the football look effortless.
Just watching the senior tailback break off big run after big run, to the tune of 1,972 yards through just 11 starts at Southern Illinois University, gives the impression that things just come easy for the Saluki senior.
But it isn't as easy as he makes it look. And Abdulqaadir's path to SIU is proof that things have rarely come easy for this St. Louis native.
Abdulqaadir has overcome a number of significant bumps in the road the last few years. But just like countless opposing defenders, he's put those obstacles in his rearview mirror, emerging a better player each time.
"I've never been one to be bogged down by any type of problem," Abdulqaadir said. "I don't linger in problems. I always fix it."
When he was in high school, his grades were the problem, keeping him from signing with a Division I-A school. He piled up more than 4,000 yards at Eureka High School, but had to look at junior colleges.
He wound up at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, where more obstacles awaited.
The first was his size. At 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds, his coach thought he was too small, and he was redshirted during his freshman year.
But Abdulqaadir got his shot the next season and made the most of it, making the All-America team.
He was well on his way to similar success during his sophomore season, and I-A schools were taking notice.
Abdulqaadir was getting as many as 30 letters a week from big-time programs. His dream of playing big-time college football looked like it would become a reality.
"That was my ultimate dream," Abdulqaadir said. "I used to look at TV back as a kid and look at schools like Texas A&M and Texas play. My only dream was to play on Saturdays."
But then the biggest obstacle off all - a devastating knee injury - all but ended Abdulqaadir's I-A aspirations.
And he was this close.
Abdulqaadir had already signed a letter of intent to play for Washington State when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the seventh game of his sophomore season. After looking at Abdulqaadir's medical report, the Cougars passed on him, as did just about everyone else who had previously shown interest.
Suddenly, Abdulqaadir went from a hot I-A prospect to a guy just looking for an opportunity. Any opportunity.
"I was extremely worried," Abdulqaadir said about his future in football at the time.
The injury itself was cause enough for concern. But the details of the procedure itself is what really scared programs off.
"What happened is I had a little cartilage damage," Abdulqaadir said. "The doctor took a dissolvable tack and tacked the cartilage down. Just one. But in the process of me getting recruited, I had to pass my doctors records out to various schools. As a result of the schools reviewing the records, they felt it should have been more tacks than just one. They felt it should have been five to seven."
"That was the reason why (Washington State) released me."
That's when his connection to SIU assistant coaches Tom Matukewicz and Brian Anderson - both former assistants at Coffeyville - led to an unexpected arrival in Carbondale.
"It was kind of funny," Abdulqaadir said. "I never understood exactly where they (Matukewicz and Anderson) went. I found out it was SIU. I never even knew they had a football team. So I used to always tell coach Anderson when he came back to put a word out for me."
And he did just that. Based on high recommendations from Anderson and Matukewicz, SIU head coach Jerry Kill was convinced Abdulqaadir could make a full recovery and offered him a scholarship.
Abdulqaadir did have an offer on the table from Idaho State, but decided to play closer to home.
"Not even in the back of my mind did I think I was going to end up here," Abdulqaadir said. "It was just fate, man. It's weird."
Given another opportunity, Abdulqaadir went to work. He entered fall camp still gimpy from the surgery. Nobody expected him to make a miracle recovery in time for the start of the season. But thanks to a strong work ethic, Abdulqaadir was ready for the season-opener.
"I've always had a good work ethic," Abdulqaadir said. "A lot of people distinguish the greater player by his work ethic. And I've always been the type of person that has been able to recover from injuries in a respectable amount of time.
"I would rehab three to four times a day. Any time I had free time, I'd be rehabbing. Just basically the love of the game is what pushed me to get back on the field."
And in a case of harsh irony, Abdulqaadir went from a high-ceiling backup coming off surgery to the top rusher in the Gateway Conference after Tom Koutsos went down with a season-ending injury against Murray State.
Abdulqaadir broke free for a 63-yard run on his first play from scrimmage as Koutsos' replacement and finished with 168 yards in the contest.
The rest is history.
Abdulqaadir went on to pile up 1,300-plus yards and 20 touchdowns in just six starts. Despite being struck by a season-ending injury again - this time a broken hand that kept him out of SIU's final three games - those totals led the Gateway Conference.
Abdulqaadir is finally 100 percent healthy this season after overcoming several, nagging leg injuries, and he's leading the team with 641 yards, eight TDs and a hefty 7.2 yards per carry average. He was named the national "Player of the Week" after rushing for 200 yards and two TDs againts Western Illinois last week.
Through all his trials, Abdulqaadir currently finds himself on the short list for the Walter Payton Award - given to the top player in Division I-AA - for the second year in a row.
Sure, SIU does not draw crowds and media attention the way some big-time programs like Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin - teams that were once interested in Abdulqaadir - but to his credit, he is not bitter. His belief in the rewards of hard work have given him peace of mind.
"As long as you give full effort in whatever it is you're doing, whatever is supposed to come to you is going to come to you," Abdulqaadir said. "That way you'll never look back at things and say, 'Man I wish I would have done this, or I wish I would have done that.'"
And who knows? If the Salukis continue their early-season success and Abdulqaadir stays completely healthy for the first time in three years, a stage even bigger than I-A may be in his future.
Abdulqaadir is currently the second-rated small-school prospect at running back by one NFL draft expert and is rated as high as 24th overall. He has talked to plenty of scouts this year, getting mostly positive feedback.
"I don't have a dream to play in the NFL," Abdulqaadir said. "My dream is to be comfortable. But I'm not a fool on the other hand. And if the opportunity presents itself, of course I'm going to take it."
