Explaining The Learning Curve For Demond Williams Jr.

On a day in which just two of the 100-plus University of Washington football players were trotted in front of the media this week, with most probably not real thrilled about rehashing a lackluster 13-10 loss to Wisconsin, Demond Williams Jr. walked into the team meeting room and sat down.

His body language said bring it on. He sat erect, with his arms crossed. His answers were pinpoint. He seemed comfortable in his own football skin.

The sophomore quarterback acknowledged he made mistakes -- two in particular that were costly -- yet Williams was notably cool and collected in how he addressed the disappointment and in how he had moved on.

"I would say to keep adding trying to be resilient throughout the season," Williams said of bouncing back. "Having a rough game as an offense is never good, especially when you're not being able to get the win. You want to come out the next week and try to get the feeling out of your system."

Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr. looks for a receiver at Wisconsin. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

As a dual-threat quarterback with 11 UW starts to his name, Williams makes opposing teams nervous with his elite speed. He had a 36-yard run against the Badgers. He's generally a pinpoint passer, completing 71 percent of his throws this season. He can spread the field.

Yet his youthful exuberance as a playmaker has cost him at times, notably in games at Michigan and Wisconsin, where one play turned everything on a dime, where he went for a kill shot that sort of blew up on him.

In the third quarter in Madison, Williams and the Huskies had a first down at the Wisconsin 36 and a 10-3 lead when he threw one to the end zone for freshman Dezmen Roebuck that was intercepted. He didn't see freshman Chris Lawson open on the shorter check-down. A chance to put the Badgers away in a more methodical fashion was squandered.

Then there was Williams scrambling and losing the ball deep at his end of the field, trying to salvage a third-quarter play, when he fumbled and the ball was recovered at the UW 7. Two plays later, Wisconsin scored and tied the game at 10.

An older and wiser Williams will not make those same mistakes as a junior or senior. As a sophomore, he regretably understands that. Still, his expression didn't change as he calmly broke everything down for his media inquisitors.

"The two turnovers are obviously the ones I point out by myself," he said. "Going backward in the pocket was bad ball security and was unacceptable, and I understand that. I'm trying to make sure I don't repeat that same issue and repeat the same problem going into this week. The interception was along the same lines. I've got to be smarter and not take that shot."

What's interesting is how UW coach Jedd Fisch felt the need to be protective of his young signal-caller this week, presumably in case someone heaped heavy criticism on him for what happened at Wisconsin.

"We have to realize that every game is going to be something different," Fisch said. "He's never played in those elements before. The crowd got super into it in the fourth quarter. The game was exceptionally close. The weather turned up a notch. All those things happen. This is the Big Ten and these are all new experiences. He's 19. He's a sophomore."

Considering he grew up in Arizona, Williams has been more of a warm-weather quarterback in his career behind center. Certainly, he's played in the rain before in Montlake. The Wisconsin chill and sleet-like conditions were something new, in fact downright miserable stuff, but not an alibi for him.

"We knew it was going to be like that," he said. "We knew it was going to be cold. We knew there was a chance of it snowing and stuff like that. We tried not to use it as an excuse."

Wisconsin linebacker Mason Posa draws a bead on Husky quarterback Demond Williams Jr. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Next up is last-place Purdue (2-8 overall, 0-7 Big Ten), maybe the perfect antidote for the young quarterback and the Huskies (6-3, 3-3) in providing a bounce-back game.

Fisch maintained once more that Williams is one of the best quarterback talents he's coached and it's his job to keep him confident at all times.

However, Williams already seems fairly unflappable in his own right. He says he needs just a day or two to get over the disappointment of a loss, or once he's watched it on tape. He's moved on.

"I'm just going into this new week with a new mindset," he said, "and figuring out how we can get better."

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