Inside The Huskies

So Much for UW Local Recruiting Inroads: Rainey-Sale De-Commits

The linebacker from Spanaway, Washington, backs off after DeBoer leaves.
Dan Raley|
So Much for UW Local Recruiting Inroads: Rainey-Sale De-Commits
So Much for UW Local Recruiting Inroads: Rainey-Sale De-Commits

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Washington Huskies

The University of Washington football program just made local recruiting inroads by receiving a commitment from linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale of Bethel High School in Spanaway, Washington.

However, not an hour went by on Friday once news broke that Kalen DeBoer was leaving for Alabama and the 4-star player withdrew his pledge.

“With the uncertainty surrounding the UW football program I have decided to de-commit and open back up my recruitment,” Rainey-Sale posted on social media. “Please respect my decision.”

Rainey-Sale is ranked by 247 Sports as the 72nd overall player in the 2025 class and the top player in Washington state. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker chose the Huskies over 10 other scholarship offers that included Florida State, Oregon, Miami and Penn State.

The Huskies were hoping to have better luck with this touted Bethel linebacker than the one who came before him.

In 2021, the Jimmy Lake-led Huskies signed 6-foot-2, 221-pound Will Latu, likewise a 4-star backer, only to have him never report to Montlake or play college football for anyone.

Rainey-Sale, however, should find a place, maybe even Washington, if he's good with DeBoer's coaching replacement.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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