Inside The Huskies

Demond Wiliams Jr. Enters New Season With New Look

The Husky quarterback made people do a double-take when they saw his haircut.
Dan Raley|
Demond Williams Jr. got his hair cut before the season opener.
Demond Williams Jr. got his hair cut before the season opener. | Skylar Lin Visuals

If opposing defenders didn't have enough trouble tackling extra-swift University of Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., they now have to ask which one is he?

That's because the sophomore signal-caller cut off his long hair in advance of Saturday night's season opener against Colorado State, creating such a different look it made people to do a double-take when he arrived for a media session earlier this week.

"I just wanted to get it clean, get it chopped off," Williams said with a smile.

There was no immediate indication of whether the young quarterback experienced any aerodynamic benefits with fewer wind-resistant follicles in play.

Note to Colorado State: Williams will no doubt be the fastest player the Rams see all season taking snaps, regardless of his appearance.

Carefully groomed to be the Husky starting quarterback all along since Jedd Fisch took over as coach, the Arizona native has never wavered in being as serious as can be in leading the team.

A team-voted captaincy only strengthened his resolve in this manner.

Demond Williams Jr. got a haircut in advance of the season opener.
Demond Williams Jr. got a haircut in advance of the season opener. | Dan Raley

"It means a lot for me, just to have a say on the team and be able to pull guys together, especially as a quarterback," Williams said of being one of the six game-day leaders. "It means a lot for me, especially being a young guy, especially at captain, being the only true sophomore."

With Williams making just two freshman starts in 2024, including the Sun Bowl against Louisville, people are still getting to know him across the college football landscape. Yet his 374-yard, 4-touchdown passing performance in El Paso, with a rushing score by him thrown in there as well, was a pretty good movie trailer to advertise what he's capable of doing.

Besides his corps of veteran receivers, Williams from Chandler, Arizona, has the added boost of throwing to a pair of freshmen from his home state who he grew up with in Raiden Vines-Bright and Dezmen Roebuck. They played with and against each other.

"They're super talented," the quarterback said. "Both of them, they're going to play a lot. "

While regarded as a defensive coordinator's nightmare, Williams seems to be a little more choosy in regards to scrambling out of the pocket. That comes with maturity and probably a sense of self-preservation. He knows he has to take care of his health, though he has no firm marching orders from the staff.

"Just be myself, be instinctual and just know when to get down, and also to know when to make a big play," Williams said. "It's nothing they're telling me specifically. It's just be myself."

And that would be the guy with the fast feet, accurate arm and a lot less hair.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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