Elijah Brown Makes Himself Ready Husky QB Option

The Stanford transfer was productive in just his second UW outing.

Elijah Brown threw 39 times against Iowa, completing 28 for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. | Dave Sizer photo

With football roles later reversed, Elijah Brown was a big name in the 2024 recruiting class, the quarterback for the Mater Dei powerhouse in Los Angeles, someone with a lot more stature and offers than Demond Williams Jr.

Today, Williams has been the No. 1 University of Washington signal-caller for 20 consecutive games, with Brown backing him up for six of them.

Now with an injury and poor performance involved, this quarterback hierarchy could flip back to its original order -- with Brown taking over from Williams as the Husky starter for next Friday's game at Purdue.

"I just play week by week," the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Brown said, tactfully presenting himself as a team player. "Hopefully Demond is good and can play next week, and we'll see how it goes."

Elijah Brown rolls out looking for a receiver in the Iowa game. | Dave Sizer photo

In a 41-24 loss to Iowa on Friday at home, Williams struggled badly over a half-dozen possessions before an injury sent him to the locker room during the first half, not to return.

Meantime, Brown was summoned for his second UW game appearance and showed off his QB capability by completing 28 of 39 passes for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns.

With Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff in place back then, the Huskies pursued Brown at Mater Dei, where he was a 4-star recruit who won two state titles and 42 of 44 games while passing for 8,670 yards and 107 touchdowns.

In the end, he chose Stanford, where he spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons and played in six games and started three times. He left following a coaching change.

At the same time, Williams was a 3-star recruit for suburban Phoenix's Basha High, where he threw for 10,035 yards and 93 touchdowns and rushed for 2,783 yards and 42 touchdowns. He committed to Arizona and Fisch, and ultimately followed the coach to the UW.

Elijah Brown replaced an injured Demond Willams Jr. in the first half against Iowa. | Dave Sizer photo

While Williams' injury situation could lead to a Husky quarterback change, Fisch made it clear after the Iowa game he isn't ready to abandon him just yet based on play alone.

His medical report initially will dictate who takes the snaps in the next game.

"At this point in time, I've got to see where he is health-wise," Fisch said of Williams. "I've got to make sure he's good to go before we declare any starter for this week. I've got to see if he's medically cleared or not and go from there."

Brown, of course, is ready to play if needed, as he showed against Iowa.