Nebraska · W 17-10
10 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
The other 7 games average 4 tackles. This one was 6 above.
Zaydrius Rainey-Sale
Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Second year in the Washington linebacker corps. One game to point at: 10 tackles and 1 sack against Nebraska — Week 9, 2026.
40 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
40 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Washington | 40 | 27 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2025 | Washington | 21 | 13 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 61 | 40 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 6 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-10vs Washington State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-14vs Utah State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-16vs Eastern Washington | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-27vs Minnesota | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-25@ No. 18 USC | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-41vs No. 20 Iowa | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | W 38-26@ Purdue | 5 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 17-10@ Nebraska | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Total | 40 | 27 | 5.0 | 1.0 | — | 4 |
Oct. 31 · W 17-10 at Nebraska, play by play
10 tackles, including 1 sack, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 11 for him; the box score credits 10.
Sacked the quarterback for a 1-yard loss. First quarter, tied 0-0.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 5 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Washington’s defense played that day
Nebraska’s 11 drives: 9 stopped (3 takeaways) · 2 scored. While the game was within a score they held 9 of 10.
5 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 4 of his 5, sacks included.
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 9 · 2026
W 17-10
at Nebraska
1 sack · 1 tackle for loss · 10 tackles
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
Ratings of the games shown run from -14 to +15 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%5 TFLSack rate
2%1 sackPD rate
10%4 pass breakups40 tackles · 5 for loss · 1 sack.
2 seasons under Jedd Fisch — 14-7 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 10.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jedd Fisch
Pass share
56.4%
287 pass / 222 run
Plays / game
63.6
8 games
Team sack rate
7.6%
330 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Surprisingly productive for a linebacker with no award recognition yet — top-3% passes broken up, top-4% solo-tackle rate.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #162 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #47 of 72 Big Ten LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
