Back in 1986 while I was serving as a young receiver coach at Central Washington University. Then head coach Tom Parry pulled an old picture out of his desk, looked at it and chuckled a little. “You know, football hasn’t changed much.”
What he pulled out was a picture of a 1960’s polaroid picture that was taken from the coach’s booth during a game. The coach in the booth took the picture of PLU’s defensive front, dropped the picture of what was called a 5-2 defensive front over the edge of the stadium. The coach on the field waited for that picture to float down, grabbed it and took it to the sideline to discuss strategy.
What coach Parry was alluding to, obviously wasn’t the technology, but the defensive fronts and coverages. The reality is, there are only 11 players on the field at a time. There are only so many ways one can soundly defensively cover all the gaps and downfield routes when the number of players are limited.
As coach Parry said, “we called it a 5-2. Today we call it a 3 -4. Tell me the difference.” Forty years later, I still tend to believe him. Back in ’86 we understood the difference between cover 2, cover 2 Man, cover 3, cover 4. Maybe, the one small adaptation since those days was dropping a linebacker deep down the middle, known as Tampa 2.
Offensively, in 1986, Coach Parry had what I thought was a unique Offensive play in his arsenal where the QB would “ride” the fullback, keeping his eyes “looking through the eyebrows” while reading the walked up strong safety – if the safety “sat” or dropped into coverage, then pitch to the runningback. If the safety stepped forward, pull up and throw the ball to the slotback that was settling in the zone right behind the evacuating safety.
I looked at coach and said, “man, that’s genius.” In Coach Parry’s usual somewhat humorous grumpy personality, spit a little chaw and said, “that’s been around forever. Can’t tell you who I stole it from.”
Of course, the 1990’s roll around and Chip Kelly changes college football with what we now know as the “RPO.” The better way to think about it, college football decided an old play could have profound impact on scoring if this “new” RPO philosophy was used in other areas on the field.
If there is a major change I would say it is how teams use their personnel.
Back in 2024, under D-Coordinator Steve Belichick, the DaWgsused inside linebacker Alphonso Tuputala to walkup as an Edge player and rush the passer on passing downs. We saw Jacob Lane and Voi Tunuufi, Edge players drop down into the two, three, or 4I technique on passing downs.
In 2025, under Ryan Walters, we saw Xe’ree Alexander do the exact same thing. Still, three or four man fronts, but changing personnel.
Flexibility is the new move in football. Having inside linebackers such as Mark Jerue line up at the same place 95% of the game, play after play, is a thing of the past. Because of that, we are going to attempt something different. We are going to attempt to discuss Linebackers in the same discussion as “Rush Ends” or wideside Edges. I will do a small feature on the ‘Big Edges’ later in the series.
If it works, we’ll keep it until my next contract is negotiated. If not, I’ll get fired and the boss will let the next guy be the genius.
LINEBACKERS/RUSH ENDS:
Graduates: Anthony Ward
Major loses: Devin Bryant
Returning Starters: Jacob Manu, Xe’ree Alexander
Portal Additions: None
Top Returners: Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Isaiah Ward
Top Freshman: Ramzek Fruean, Ezaya Tokio
Whether you talk about linebackers or outside rush players, there is a glimmer of real hope, but just enough question, depth to make one a little leery heading into the spring.
One one hand, the UW has some top end potential and players that developed real nice this past season. That’s worth getting excited about. On the other hand, I am always very iffy when we talk about players coming back from a knee injury. Not only did the player lose strength due to the injury, but that player was also unable to continue their natural strength development for a year. Some players make it back full speed. Others never do.
So, we will look at the ones we expect back at full speed, then talk about the possible help from recovering injuries.
Washington will have three Linebackers with quality game experience. Jacob Manu (former Pac 12 All-conference) will be a 6th year player, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale (high School All-American) will be a sophomore, and Xe’ree Alexander a Senior. All three bring varied skill sets to the table.
Rainey-Sele is only a sophomore, but he is without a doubt, the most athletic of the group. He has the ability to go sideline to sideline from the middle and the length to rush the passer from the edge. With his versatility, there will be times when all three of the top linebackers will be on the field at the same time. Out of the group, whether it be this year or next, we look for him to push for all-Conference recognition.
Jacob Manu, as noted, was a former Pac-12 all-Conference player. In an earlier publication, I commented, while sitting in the stands at Maryland this last year, my son mentioned, “wow, number 9 really closes fast. He’s got some speed.” I don’t know how fast he is, but he plays fast. He recognizes the plays and seems to just get there before he should. If Manu, who sat and redshirted most of last year due to knee surgery in ’24, can stay healthy, watching him play for a full year could really be fun.
Xe’ree Alexander, another starter in ’25, came to Washington as a transfer. I have to admit. I may have been wr… Wro…Wrong. Its hard for me to say that word. When I first viewed him play at Central Florida upon his transfer, I ask, “Why? I just don’t see it.” But, it seems he made some tremendous progress in late spring ball and fall camp. We definitely saw improvement throughout the year. By the end of the ’25 season, I was thinking, “this kid is playing exceedingly well. He’s smart. Makes quick reads.” Like Manu, he just seems to get to where he needs to be. On his interception vs Boise State, he even ran the return as if he knew how turn a corner and go.
Overall I don’t think the UW could ask for a stronger inside group. Throw in RsFr. Donovan Robinson (6’3” 230), and four star frosh Ramzek Fruean (6’3.5” 215) and the Inside should be solid. Taariq Al-Uqdah, a Senior and early season starter, will be coming back from an ACL and will probably not be ready until a few games into the season.
As noted in the intro, Alexander and Rainey-Sale very easily could be used on the Edge during pass rushing downs, which is why the Husky coaches never brought in a true pass rushing edge. However, UW has a few designated Edge players that are not your prototypical 6’5” 270/280 lb. corner setting edges. The smaller players will usually be used to the field (for speed purposes) and for rushing the passer on obvious passing downs.
Isaiah Ward (6’5” 235) is a tall lanky part-time starter on the Edge that can use the off-season to put on a little more bulk. He was hampered by an injury mid-season that set him back for weeks. In watching him rush the passer for the past two years,Ward definitely showed promise, had a few moments where he shined, but it was evident that he still needed to get stronger and bring a little more punch to his hands as he rushes.
Russell Davis has shown amazing potential in the few games he has appeared in two seasons ago. However, just as he seems to recover from one injury, he has been set back with another devastating injury. He has shown brilliance on the pass rush one game, then disappear for an entire season. As noted, I am always skeptical with players with continual injuries. They lose experience and complete off-seasons of development. Davis is a wait and see, at best.
Hayden Moore was a Michigan transfer two seasons ago. He sat for a year while developing at the Linebacker position. After Davis went down and injuries continue to hamper Zach Durfee, Moore was moved to the outside to ramp up the depth. Although he did not see a lot of time this last year, Moore brings a play hard mentality to his game.
Look for talented true frosh Ezaya Tokio to redshirt, spending a year finding where he best fits into the scheme.
