Great Anticipation Surrounds Rainey-Sale's UW Debut

Rubber-stamped as a 4-star prospect, Rainey-Sale was designated by ESPN as the 126th player in the country, by 247Sports tabbed as the nation's No. 10 linebacker and by multiple sites as the top player in Washington.

What wasn't clear right away entering spring football was Rainey-Sale underwent offseason knee surgery, dealing with sort of clean-up maintenance, from his time at Bethel high School in the Tacoma suburbs, and wouldn't practice with the UW right away.

Still, Rainey-Sale, even just walking out to spring or fall practice, or going through his rehabilitation exercises off to the side, moved with plenty of grace, if not out and out swagger. For that matter, he wears No. 23, which might be an obscure football number but was made famous by NBA legend Michael Jordan.

"That swagger, I'd seen it in high school," fellow UW linebacker Xe'ree Alexander said of his younger teammate. "He has a lot of swag, yeah."

Husky coaches see plenty of possibilities for this extra-tall and sufficiently gifted defender who chose the UW over Florida State, UCLA and others.

"He's got a lot of length, very athletic," UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. "The thing I've been most impressed with is his football IQ."

Last week, Rainey-Sale was medically cleared to practice without limitations and he came mentally prepared to handle his responsibilities.

"When he was given the go, or the green light, to practice, you would think there would be some mental errors and some communication drop-offs and there hasn't been," Walters said. "I'm really excited for him and his future here."

Husky teammates have been drawn to Rainey-Sale and the total package. He's fun to be around. He should be fun to play with, too.

"He's very young, but he brings a lot energy," Alexander said. "He has a lot of enthusiasm. He brings a lot of laughs to the room."

Opponents probably won't be laughing once he's at full speed, doing what he does on a regular basis.