Commentary: Did Demond Williams Jr. just earn Washington’s starting QB job?

SEATTLE – The story of Friday night should be the number six, but No. 2 stole the spotlight.

Washington qualifying for a bowl was what fans were hoping to celebrate, but that might take a backseat to the birth of a quarterback.

The Huskies’ 31-19 win over UCLA was their sixth victory of the season, which ensured they’ll go to a bowl game and get those coveted 15 extra practices. But how about that Demond Williams Jr? Did the true freshman just become the true starter?

Before the season started, there was speculation whether Williams would get playing time behind center despite Will Rogers transferring from Mississippi State. Rogers was considered a ringer, having thrown for 71 touchdowns and more than 8,700 yards during his sophomore and junior years with the Bulldogs.

But Williams had some bite to him – a dynamism that first-year coach Jedd Fisch couldn’t leave off the field … even if it seemed he should have at times. Early on in the year, Fisch would throw out the Chandler, Arizona, native on random plays, seemingly hampering the offense more than he helped. Later, however, he would put Williams behind center for entire series and give the Huskies a much-needed jump-start. A 12-play drive against Michigan that resulted in a field goal – and eventual win – stood out. It still seemed to be Rogers’ team, though.

Then, last week, Fisch subbed out Rogers after a scoreless first half against Penn State to see what the youngster could do. It wasn’t much, but Williams did help get points on the board in the Huskies’ 35-6 loss.

Friday was different. Much, much different.

One could argue that the stakes were higher for UW (6-5, 4-4 in the Big Ten) vs. the Bruins than they had been all year. A win gets them to a bowl whereas a loss almost guarantees the season ends in two weeks on the road vs. No. 1 Oregon.

The Huskies needed a grand performance from Rogers … and they didn’t get it. The senior threw back-to-back interceptions on the first two possessions of the second half, the first with the Huskies up 14-10 and the second with them up 14-13. He should have had an interception in the first half as well, but was bailed out on a roughing-the-passer call that did not affect his pass.

So Fisch went to Williams. And he came through.

Williams led an 11-play, 57-yard field-goal drive on the Huskies’ third possession of the second half that included a 16-yard run on the first play. Washington led 17-13.

He led an eight-play, 74-yard drive on the next possession that included a 32-yard completion to Denzel Boston and a touchdown toss to Decker DeGraaf. Washington 24-13.

And he led a four-play, 23-yard touchdown drive after a UCLA turnover-on-downs that put the Huskies up 31-13. OK, that one was mostly UW running back Jonah Coleman, but you get the idea.

UCLA (4-6, 3-5) is not exactly a Big Ten titan, but it did knock off Iowa – the team that crushed the Huskies 40-16 last month – on Nov. 8. And Williams, who completed 7 of 8 passes for 67 yards and a TD – adding 31 rushing yards on six carries – looked dominant. Maybe, just maybe, dominant enough to get the start against Oregon in the regular-season finale.

To reiterate, Friday was a lot bigger than one player. Fisch is trying to rebuild a program that lost all the marquee names from last year’s national-championship run. At 6-5, he is ahead of where he was in his second year at Arizona, as the Wildcats went 5-7 in 2022 before going 10-3 last year. That means something.

But seeing what Williams could do in a high-pressure situation when he had the offense to himself meant something, too. He was, quite simply, the best player on the field in the second half. This might be just the beginning.

This isn’t to shut the door on Rogers. He has been stellar at times this season and has proven himself as a quality quarterback throughout his college career. And even though the Huskies will be major underdogs vs. the Ducks, Fisch – who wouldn’t name the starter in his postgame news conference – is going to do what’s necessary to try and beat their chief rivals. This isn’t a development game for younger players.

Still, it’s hard to ignore what happened Friday. For a second, it looked as though the Dawgs were going to give the game way to the Bruins. Then they gave the ball to Williams.

The immediate result is a bowl game. The long-term result? That just got a lot more intriguing.