By Abby Heinicke, The Seattle Medium
Coaches and parents regularly make decisions to hold back young athletes in every sport in order to help them strengthen and develop their bodies and talents. So it’s surprising when a high-level athlete in college sports is a “true freshman,” meaning they are the actual age associated with their grade.
Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, a 17-year-old freshman linebacker for the University of Washington football team, is one of these high-level, true freshmen.
When these types of players come around, they capture a lot of attention. A player competing against others years older than them? That’s an athlete everyone wants in part because their youth allows them to grow into the exact role a team needs from them.
Zaydrius Rainey-Sale was the number one football recruit out of Washington in the 2025 recruiting class. A 6’3” 225 pound linebacker, he had twenty D1 offers. D1 is highest playing field for college athletes. Yet he decided to stay local – about 30 miles away from his hometown of Tacoma – to be a University of Washington Husky.
Born in Hawaii, Zaydrius went to Bethel High School in Elk Plain, Pierce County, and acquired numerous accolades in his senior year of high school, including State Defensive MVP by SB Live, Player of the Year by the Tacoma News Tribune, #1 recruit in Washington by 247Sports, and #10 linebacker in the country, also by 247Sports.
He missed the first five games of the Husky football season this fall due to an ACL tear sustained in his senior year of high school. He played for the first time as a Husky against Rutgers on Oct. 10, finishing with one tackle. He had two tackles against Michigan in mid-October, followed by one tackle and two broken-up passes against Illinois at the end of October in a 42-25 Washington victory – his best performance as a Husky.
“If you have a kid that really listens to people who care about him, and they actually apply what they’re being told, that’s what creates a Zaydrius,” Bethel football head coach Travis Domser said in an interview about his former player.
Zaydrius has held a fire for football since he was young, beginning to play tackle football in elementary school. When his friends began to receive D1 offers their freshman year of high school, he used that as fuel to make himself better on all fronts.
Zaydrius worked harder, longer, and faster. He received his first D1 offer during his sophomore year at Bethel, and had 19 more by the end of his high school career. He worked closely with coaches at Ford Sports Performance in Bellevue, better known as FSP, to develop as a young athlete. He credits them for the progress he made throughout high school.
FSP “helped me a lot, learning the game, the ins and outs. And I feel like that’s what makes it easier for me now to play,” Zaydrius said in a recent interview.
Outside the booming atmosphere of Husky Stadium, Zaydrius’s family supports him to grow into the best player he can be, a sentiment echoed by anyone who knows him well.
“One-hundred percent of the credit needs to go to his mom and his family,” Domser said, “His mom and his family are unbelievable supporters, and those are the people that really made who he is.”
Zaydrius doesn’t hesitate in naming his biggest inspiration: his mom.
“Just seeing her wake up early, always just there in my corner, my sister’s corner too, just being there supporting us. Now that I look back at it, she was always there,” Zaydrius said.
Zaydrius’s uncle, who passed away recently, played a large role in keeping Zaydrius on track as a young athlete. Laughing, Zaydrius explained how his uncle would give him moves to add to his toolkit.
“Some of them were good…” he trailed off, a smile on his face. “I remember in school because I’m already young, they wanted me to get held back because I was bad in class; I wouldn’t listen.”
“‘You gotta lock in,’” his uncle told him.
Zaydrius locked in, with plenty of schools to pick from come the end of his high school season in 2024. But what made the top recruit stay close to home for his college career?
He had his sights set on Florida State, but following a call from UW’s recruitment director under Coach Kalen Deboer he made a quick decision to be a Husky. “I feel like it was all rushed, but I thought I knew what I wanted, and they were winning too,” Zaydrius said. “I wanted to play for a winning team.”
Then Deboer left UW for Alabama following the 2023-24 season. Zaydrius reopened his commitment, sparking anger in Husky football fandom. But once Jedd Fisch was named UW’s next head coach, Zaydrius recommitted to Washington.
“Really thinking about it, I just wanted to go somewhere where I could play early,” he said, “I feel like I made the right decision, because I’m playing early.” He turns 18 this month and intends to play for a long time.
Andy Yamashita, the Seattle Times’ Husky football reporter, said Fisch prefers to rely less on the transfer portal.
“Jeff needed to find kids who fit the program that he was trying to build, and he’s always emphasized that high school recruiting was going to be how he added to this team,” Yamashita said.
Yamashita emphasized that while successful college football teams usually rely on players in their fourth or fifth year, the Huskies have a young team this year. It seems Fisch is working to build a team that is playoff-primed in a few years. When the Huskies went to the National Championship in 2023 under Deboer, they had some players in their sixth year because of the pandemic.
According to the Huskies’ roster, 29 of their 100 plus players are true freshmen, with about one third of those 29 players seeing game time this year.
Zaydrius’s ability to play young with Fisch is why he decided to be a Husky: he could play as soon as he entered campus in Seattle. With starting linebacker Taariq “Buddha” Al-Uqdah out for the season due to injury and Jacob Manu predicted to be redshirted to save a year of eligibility, Zaydrius has an opportunity to play in some big games.
“Playing as a true freshman proves that I have the knowledge and all the tangibles to compete at a high level,” Zaydrius said.
His dream is to play in the NFL, specifically under Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
“They defense gritty,” he said, “I think I would fit in.”
According to an article via HuskiesWire, Fisch said he is elated for Zaydrius to be making such a large impact on the Huskies’ defense early. His status as a true freshman allows him to develop under Fisch’s coaching.
“He is exciting,” Fisch said in the article. “I love the fact that he didn’t play in training camp and how good he’s getting by only practicing in these shorter windows.
“Based on our situation right now at linebacker, we have a three-man rotation. Hopefully, by Wisconsin, we’ll know one way or the other if we’ll have a four-man or not,” Fisch said in the article..
The Huskies played Wisconsin , Nov. 8, in Madison, after a week off. With an overall record of 6-2 and recently ranked 23 by College Playoff Football poll and 24 in the AP top 25 poll, the Huskies were out for a dub.
But the Huskies fell to the Badgers 10-13 following multiple turnovers and a blocked field goal. Despite the loss, Zaydrius arguably had his best game yet, with two solo tackles, one assisted tackle and one quarterback hurry.
Zaydrius hopes to play a larger role for his team, stepping into a leadership role despite his age.
“I just want to build myself a role for the future,” he said. “Knowing I’m young and still have three to four more years to play. “I’m more of a vocal leader, even though I tell myself I’m not really a leader type, but it’s just natural.”
