Bethel’s Rainey-Sale, state’s top football recruit, commits to UW

The top-ranked high school football recruit in Washington in the 2025 class is staying home. Bethel (Spanaway) High School linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, considered a four-star recruit and Washington’s top-rated recruit in 247sports.com’s composite rankings, verbally committed to UW on social media on Monday afternoon.

It’s the second time Rainey-Sale has committed to play for the Huskies. He committed to Kalen DeBoer’s program on Jan. 8 but reopened his commitment after DeBoer bolted for Alabama. Rainey-Sale caps off a successful two weeks for local UW recruiting — Auburn Riverside’s Jonathan Epperson and Spanaway Lake’s D’Aryhian Clemons also committed to Jedd Fisch’s program last week.

Rainey-Sale, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker, drew national interest during his recruitment. He held 20 offers and chose the Huskies over offers from Florida State, Alabama and others.

“He really likes to learn, he’s a learner,” Bethel coach Travis Domser told The News Tribune in February.. “He plays with a huge, high motor, plays fast, is not scared. He’s just the real deal. I haven’t coached a lot of kids who have gone to the NFL, but if there’s a prototypical kid that could be in the NFL one day, it’d be Zay.”