Husky Roster Review: Demond Williams Jr. Came Ready to Play

Demond Williams Jr. wears No. 2 for the University of Washington football team, but it almost seems as if the elusive freshman quarterback should be pulling on a Husky jersey one digit higher. It's a Seattle thing.

Williams plays a lot like a guy named Wilson, as in Russell and formerly of the Seahawks, yet another compact and swift signal-caller who used to drop back and deliver a tight spiral, unless, of course, he tucked the ball under his arm and took off running.

A newcomer to the college game, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Williams nevertheless walked into UW spring practice with a bit of a swagger, just like Wilson. He established himself right away as the Husky back-up quarterback and ready to play should anything happen to projected starter and Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers.

Demond Williams Jr. call signals before Landen Hatchett snaps the ball to him in spring ball. | Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Williams has 15 spring practices under his belt, five more than fellow freshman quarterback and 4-star recruit Dermaricus Davis, who left before the Huskies finished up, entered the transfer portal and headed for UCLA.

The presence of Williams, who signed with Jedd Fisch and his staff to play for Arizona and followed them to Montlake, no doubt was a big reason for Davis, who with his 6-foot-5, 187-pound frame has a huge upside, bailing on the UW.

Demond Williams Jr. lets fly with a spring practice pass. | Skylar Lin Visuals

"I think we all know about Demond," Fisch said. "Demond has an unbelievable skill set as a thrower and a runner. He reminds me of the elite quarterbacks that are the true definition of a dual threat."

Fisch won the services of this elusive kid, who had 32 scholarship offers to pick from, including one from Kalen DeBoer's UW staff.

Everyone saw the possibilities in Williams, who emerged from Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona, with outer-worldly stats and was named Arizona 6A Player of the Year. He completed 645 of 903 passes for 10,035 yards and 93 touchdowns and rushed 480 times for 2,783 yards and 42 scores.

The UW football coach and young quarterback had a relationship so strong and so long, the aforementioned Davis probably thought he had no chance of overcoming that, especially if the QBs locked into a tight battle.

"That's my guy," Williams said of Fisch. "He's always been there. He offered me as a freshman and that kind of stuck with me. He's always been there for me whenever I needed him, just having that experience and having that pro knowledge to develop me to be the best quarterback I can be."

Similar to that former Seahawks quarterback before him, Williams will be groomed to drive opposing defenses crazy while pursuing championships. If all goes well, maybe he'll decide to change his shirt to No. 3, too.

DEMOND WILLIAMS FILE

What he's done: With the Huskies dumbing everything down, none of the UW quarterbacks were particularly sharp during the running-clock and shorter-than-real-thing spring game. Williams hit on just 7 of 17 passes for a touchdown, but showed off his fleet feet with six carries for 42 yards.

Starter or not: Williams might have to wait until 2025 to take over the UW offense, but he'll more than likely be ready to step in earlier if needed.

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