Four-star Washington commit Zaydrius Rainey-Sale showcases exciting potential

The Washington Huskies have a promising playmaker in the fold in four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who showed off his complete skillset on his midseason film.

When Jedd Fisch convinced the No. 1 player in Washington, four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, to stay home and choose the Huskies, it was his biggest win in the 2025 class. The nation’s No. 10 linebacker and No. 128 overall player is the highest-ranked player in Fisch’s class and has shown it throughout the first half of his senior season.

Rainey-Sale, who is committed to playing in the Adidas All-American Bowl in January, has been a standout on both sides at Bethel High School. As a linebacker, where his long-term future is, he shows tremendous power as a tackler, a great feel for running lanes, and natural instincts in coverage that consistently put him in a position to make a play on the ball.

At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, he lines up all over the formation as both an inside and outside linebacker and could see a usage similar to fellow local product Alphonzo Tuputala in defensive coordinator Steve Belichick’s scheme once he enrolls at Washington, which could as early as January to participate in winter conditioning.

He also lines up at wide receiver and displays impressive ball-tracking ability, along with exceptional athleticism for his size. With Tuputala, Carson Bruener, and Drew Fowler all graduating at the end of the season, Belichick and linebackers coach Robert Bala could rely heavily on Rainey-Sale in his first year on campus, just like the Huskies have leaned on freshman Khmori House in 2024.