Commentary: Why Washington Huskies are eager for Demond Williams Jr.’s encore

He’s 190 pounds, which is 25 more than he was at this time last year. He’s also an adult, something the 18-year-old Demond Williams Jr. couldn’t say last Feb. 3.
But it’s not the age or size that stands out when talking about the growth of the Washington quarterback. As new Huskies offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said — “it’s different when you’re the guy and you know you’re the guy from Day 1 of the offseason.”
A year ago, Williams was a true freshman who’d transferred from Arizona knowing he was going to play behind senior Will Rogers. Regardless of Demond’s ability, he wasn’t going to crack the starting lineup when the man in front of him had thrown for 94 touchdowns over four years at Mississippi State.
But his talent was so salient that UW coach Jedd Fisch — the man who brought Williams over from Tucson — couldn’t keep him off the field entirely. Sometimes it would just be one snap in a possession. Sometimes it would be an entire series, as was the case in a win over Michigan.
Against UCLA, it was most of the second half, as Demond led three scoring drives to clinch a bowl berth for the Dawgs. And in the final two games vs. Oregon and Louisville it was the entire game.
Part of this was due to a drop-off in production by Rogers. But most of it was because the true freshman gave his team the best chance to win. Williams’ box score in the Sun Bowl — 26-of-32 passing for 374 yards and four touchdowns — confirmed as much, even if Washington did lose by one.
So now, he’s “the guy.” How does it feel?
“I would say just a lot less question marks,” Williams said. “It’s kind of normal, getting into it and being able to build chemistry with all the receivers.”
Perhaps some were wondering if Williams would, in fact, be back with Washington this season. After all, if you put something on tape for the whole country to see, schools might try to lure you away in this new college football landscape.
We just watched John Mateer put up 3,139 passing yards and 29 touchdowns for Washington State last year, and he transferred to Oklahoma. Not quite an apples to apples comparison given how last year was Mateer’s second full season and Williams didn’t start till the final regular-season game. But he did demonstrate value.
Was anyone worried he was going to leave?
“I mean, you’re always a little bit worried, but ultimately relationships still matter,” Dougherty said. “And what you build with somebody on a day-to-day basis, I wasn’t that worried. I can tell you that.”
The Huskies are coming off a 6-7 season that served as a solid foundation for Fisch’s first year. Jedd didn’t have much of a chance to recruit while the winter transfer portal was open last year, and had a little more than 60 players on the roster at this time in 2024. Now he has more than 80 … although none as critical as the quarterback who’s as dangerous with his feet as he is with his arm.
Offensive tackle Carver Willis knows this. The transfer from Kansas State has gotten to watch Williams only a couple of times but feels his job is going to get a whole lot more comfortable.
“Electric. He’s a guy that makes blocking for him pretty easy,” Willis said. “Even if I do horribly wrong, nine times out of 10 it won’t really show up like that. That makes it really easy. Obviously my job is to not do things horribly wrong, but if that does happen at some off play, the stats shouldn’t necessarily show it, which is a nice luxury to have.”
It’s hard to say how the Huskies are going to fare this year in the mighty Big Ten. As Fisch pointed, the extra bodies on the roster will allow players to develop through intrasquad competition, but that doesn’t mean they’ll flourish. It takes time to build a contender. Having a burgeoning star behind center can accelerate the process, though.
UW running back Jonah Coleman was front and center for Williams’ evolution last season. Asked what he thinks he might do this year, he couldn’t help but smile.
“You guys have seen him play. A full year — he’s gonna be good,” Coleman said. “He’s built for it.”
Bigger, stronger and more experienced. In his second year on Montlake, Williams is the starter who’s just getting started.