The Huskies four returning linebackers, Xe'ree Alexander, Jacob Manu, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale and Buddah Al-Uqdah will be a linchpin of the Huskies defense this season.
SEATTLE — Representatives of the Washington Huskies football team, both coaches and players, have been stating the belief for the entire offseason that the team believes it can have one of the best defenses in the country this season.
"My confidence is through the roof right now," Fourth-year linebacker Xe'ree Alexander said in an interview Tuesday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. "We'll be a top 10 defense in the country for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if we could make to that top five defense in the country. ... I think we're a championship-level defense."
If Ryan Walters' second year as defensive coordinator does lead to those results, the linebacker corps will be a big reason why.
UW's linebacker room was one of the most hindered units on the team last year due to injury.
Fifth-year linebackers Buddah Al-Uqdah and Jacob Manu and second-year linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale all missed time due to injury last season. Alexander was the only linebacker of the team's projected top four to have appeared in all 13 games last year, and ended his respective season by being named the Los Angeles Bowl Defensive MVP.
Al-Uqdah's injury carried into the spring, but all four are now good to go for fall training camp and there's high expectations for the group, both internally and externally.
Alexander and Rainey-Sale both shared their belief that it feels like the team has four starters at linebacker.
Alas, only two will be on the field at the same time in Walters' base defense (three in certain packages). However, it seems like the coaches will have a rotation to keep all four fresh, which could not only help with health but also maximize production from the unit.
"All four of those guys have started meaningful games in this conference," Walters said Tuesday in a news conference at Husky Stadium in Seattle. "They all carry themselves as starters, so it's a luxury to have that kind of depth. And we'll need it. You saw last year, we needed all of those guys to be ready to go play. We'll have packages where we'll have at least three of them out there. But it is nice to have a healthy rotation and all those guys are capable and talented and put in the work, and that warrants playing time. We'll see what that looks like comes fall. I'm excited to see what their competition brings in fall camp. But all those guys will be ready when their number's called."
Rainey-Sale is the least experienced of the four. He in the final eight games of the season after missing the first five with an ankle injury. While he was rehabbing, Manu, who was recovering from his own injury, took the young linebacker under his wing.
"Seeing (Rainey-Sale) from last year to this year, (the standout) is his explosiveness," Alexander said. "He's really exploded. His confidence really boosted from last year to the second. ... It's amazing to see that from a young guy. It makes me see him like, 'OK. he's going to the NFL for sure.' He's going to be one of those guys next year. Even this year, I would say. He's just gonna be one of those guys for sure."
Sale's teammates in the linebacker room have recognized his effort. Between him, Al-Uqdah, Alexander and Manu (the last of whom was described as a "dominant force" by head coach Jedd Fisch at Big Ten Media days), the second level of the front seven could be the biggest strength of the team in 2026.
