Dermaricus Davis Leaves UW a Second Time for Transfer Portal

The freshman quarterback had fallen well behind the others in the QB competition.

Quarterback Dermaricus Davis, recently reduced to watching Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers and fellow freshman Demond Williams Jr. take nearly all of the scrimmage snaps in University of Washington spring practice, has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

The 6-foot-5, 187-pound Davis from Altadena, California,, lasted not quite three weeks before deciding Jedd Fisch's quarterback-friendly program and NFL-style offense weren't for him. He had gone from sharing snaps with Williams to more often watching him take over the back-up role behind Rogers.

Davis, who wore Michael Penix Jr.'s No. 9, signed with Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff in December and previously entered the portal a first time once the UW underwent its coaching change from Alabama-bound DeBoer to Fisch. The young quarterback reconsidered on Jan. 25, deciding to give the new coach a chance.

However, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Williams, with his confident play and early Russell Wilson-like scrambling ability, has been one of the spring breakout players for the Huskies, giving the coaches plenty of confidence in his ability to run the team should anything happen to Rogers.

Demaricus Davis practices his throwing motion with a towel.

Skylar Lin Visuals

With his long, lean frame, Davis presents an attractive quarterback candidate for anyone who gets him yet, according to Fisch, he struggled early with the mental end, letting his anxiety get to him in trying doing things right.

A 4-star recruit who answers to MarMar, a variation of his first name, Davis became a recruiting priority for the DeBoer staff after showing himself to be an effective dual-threat quarterback in Southern California. 

For Entiwanda High School, which is located east of Pasadena, Davis passed for 2,618 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 223 yards and 7 more scores.

In January, the Huskies brought him with Rogers and other program newcomers to Houston to watch the CFP national championship game against Michigan.

Had he let the process play out, Davis most likely would have been in competition in 2025 with Williams for the Husky starting job, which most likely would have been entertaining to witness.

That won't happen now, with players such as Davis growing less and less patient with the process in a highly transient college football world.

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