Demond Williams Suffers Through Hot and Cold Outing

You had to look real close, but Elijah Brown played for the University of Washington football team in Saturday afternoon's game against Penn State.

On the 11th snap of the Huskies' opening drive, Brown trotted onto the field, lined up as a wide receiver left of everyone else and served as a decoy while Demond Williams Jr. threw an incomplete pass to his right.

Then the guy who normally is the Huskies' back-up quarterback ran to the sideline not to be seen again between the lines during Penn State's 28-25 victory at Husky Stadium.

Yet at halftime, people wondered out loud if Brown might be called on to start the second half after Williams had struggled noticeably once more this season, this after he was deemed healthy enough to start again after fracturing a rib against Iowa and missing the following Purdue game.

Penn State coach Matt Campbell and Demond Williams Jr. have a word after Saturday's game. | Dave Sizer

Against the Nittany Lions (5-4 overall, 2-4 Big Ten), he overthrew receiver after receiver. He had nervous feet while standing in the pocket. He still doesn't look like the same guy who passed for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025 while completing 70 percent of his attempts and rushing for 611 yards.

"I felt pretty good for the most part," Williams said in the postgame media session. "It's still a process to get 100 percent, but at the end of the day we have to find ways to win."

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This seaosn, that's often been an issue for the Huskies (5-4, 2-4) and Williams in particular who have regressed in a year's time after finishing 9-4 in 2025 with an easier schedule though many more injuries.

Against Penn State, the quarterback heard boos while four of his six first-half drives ended with a punt and the other two led to field goals as the Huskies trailed 28-6 at halftime at home.

He just didn't seem to have much touch or a rhythm when he let go with the football early on.

"Not necessarily," Williams responded when asked about his accuracy. "I just think we were taking the risks, taking the one-on-one chances and try to let our receivers go compete."

Demond Williams chases down a loose ball off a bad snap. | Dave Sizer

To his credit, the third-year Husky quarterback was much more accurate in the second half against Penn State. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns while bringing his team from 22 points down to just three.

He finished the game with 19 for 33 passing for 192 yards and those 2 scores with an interception.

It's been an uneven season for the UW leader who seemingly is capable of so much more.

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