5d ago football Edit

Four-star LB Zaydrius Rainey-Sale re-commits to Huskies over FSU and UCLA

The Spanaway-Bethel School star reset his commitment earlier in the year but once again committed with the in-state program.

Matt Moreno • TheDawgReport

Recruiting Analyst

Matt began his career at Rivals in 2011 as recruiting editor and then publisher for Arizona affiliate, GOAZCATS.com. In 2022, he moved into an expanded role covering Pac-12 recruiting for Rivals.

Sometimes a little time is all it takes to realize your gut instinct was right. Four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale could have waited to make a commitment, but he instead made an early decision to stay close to home and play at Washington back in January.

Not long after that there was a staff change with the Huskies as Jedd Fisch made the move from Arizona to replace Kalen DeBoer. The four-star recruit backed off his pledge but left the door open for UW.

Monday, the top-rated prospect from the state announced his re-commitment to the Huskies over Florida State and UCLA.

“I want to be surrounded by the NFL with the coaches and the mentors that are all throughout the building," the new UW commit told Rivals' national recruiting director Adam Gorney earlier this week about the Huskies. "I want to be able to be developed for the next level and truly developed for the best.”

The decision by the 2025 Rivals250 prospect to stay home and play for Fisch and the Huskies marks a major recruiting victory for the new staff on Montlake. Rainey-Sale took official visits to all three finalists, and the Seminoles were again viewed as top competition for the 17th-ranked outside linebacker in the class.

He is now the 18th commitment for UW in the 2025 cycle, and the Huskies' class has now reached No. 20 in the Rivals team recruiting rankings. Zaydrius-Sale is the fourth four-star commitment for Washington over the last month with the program pulling in pledges from 13 recruits over that same time.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker currently ranks 227th overall in the class according to Rivals and is the second Rivals250 commit in the class alongside offensive lineman Champ Taulealea.

UW currently sits in seventh among all Big Ten teams in the Rivals team recruiting rankings.

The four-star recruit had a productive junior season and ended 2023 with 65 tackles, including 52 solo, to go with six tackles for loss and four sacks according to MaxPreps.