Demond Williams Jr.'s QB Coronation: He Had Long Indy Pit Stop

The Washington-Indiana football game in Bloomington would not be a great platform for quarterbacks on either side of this match-up.

Hoosiers starter Kurtis Rourke sat this one out with a thumb injury that required surgery.

Will Rogers for the Huskies was dropped for a 7-yard sack on the first play of the game, whistled for an intentional grounding penalty on his third snap and victimized for a 67-yard pick-6 return on his second series.

Then there was freshman Demond Williams Jr. After drawing significant playing time at Iowa the game before, the first-year signal-caller from Chandler, Arizona, basically turned into a spectator for this second consecutive UW trip to the Midwest.

That's not to say he didn't do anything significant at all -- Williams actually scored his first career rushing touchdown for the Huskies. He scampered into the end zone early in the second half on an 8-yard run.

However, his heroics were fleeting. Fisch put him on the field for only six plays, which paled considerably to the more than two dozen he drew in Iowa City. He was like the Indy car racer who continuously revved its engines but couldn't get out of the pit area.

Demond Williams Jr. calls out signals before taking the snap from Landen Hatchett. | Skylar Lin Visuals

With all of the growing interest currently surrounding Williams following his two late-season starts and a sensational Sun Bowl performance, we're taking a look back at each of his 13 freshman appearances and what happened. This is the eighth installment. This was one of his dormant outings.

Against the Hoosiers, Williams threw an incomplete pass and ran for 8 yards late in the first quarter. That was it for him in the opening half, with the Huskies locked into a close game with their Hoosiers hosts and choosing to hang with the veteran Rogers.

To open the second half, Indiana received the kickoff and quarterback Tayven Jackson, normally the back-up but subbing for Rourke, threw a first-play interception. UW cornerback Thaddeus Dixon batted the ball high into the air and defensive tackle Jacob Bandes came down with it on the Hooisers 24.

On third-and-4 from the 18, Williams entered the game and handed the ball to Jonah Coleman who snapped off a 10-yard gain.

On the following play, the rookie quarterback faked to Coleman going up the middle, tucked the ball under his arm and scored on an 8-yard run around the right side, bringing the UW within 17-14. This promised to be the first of many six-pointers for this elusive young player in his Husky career.

Williams would hand off once more and get sacked for a yard loss later in the third quarter, and that was it. He stood idle thereafter as Indiana locked up a 31-17 victory and remained unbeaten in eight games.

Williams would settle for just three rushes for 15 yards, including that first career TD run, and throw only one pass that fell incomplete.

It was not a real memorable day for any quarterback involved in this game, outside of Indiana's Jackson. He stepped in for Rourke and drew the checkered flag by simply guiding his team to a well-paced victory. Even then, Jackson eventually turned to the transfer portal once the season ended and wound up with UCF for next season.

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