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Inside The Huskies

Loss Did Nothing to Diminish Demond Williams' High Regard

The UW quarterback shows up near the top of multiple national position lists.
Dan Raley|
Demond Williams Jr. rolls out, looking for a receiver against Ohio State.
Demond Williams Jr. rolls out, looking for a receiver against Ohio State. | Dave Sizer photo

A 24-6 weekend loss to Ohio State put a blemish on this season's University of Washington football ledger, but it has done nothing to diminish the reputation for sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who continues to build a strong following.

Consider that one month into the season, ESPN has ranked every Power 4 quarterback, 68 individuals or team player combinations in all, and Williams ranks a heady ninth in these statistical calculations.

The 5-foot-11, 198-pound Williams finds himself in the top 10 after passing for 951 yards, rushing for 283 and accounting for 8 touchdowns, and a pulling a quarterback rating of 87.0 that has to do with team success on every play and is adjusted to account for the level of opponent.

ESPN concluded that what happened to Williams against the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes -- 6 quarterback sacks and just 6 Husky points -- wasn't something rare to the UW.

"Ohio State's defense is going to do that to just about anyone and he has torched everyone else," the analysts determined of Williams.

Add to ESPN's QB ranking one put together by Greg McElroy, the former Alabama and NFL quarterback turned college football analyst and podcaster -- he has Williams third among his national top 10.

Only Oregon's Dante Moore and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza draw a higher standing than the Husky QB, according to McElroy.

USC's Jaiden Maiava ranks No. 1 in the ESPN ranking with a 93.4 score, followed by Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, Mississippi's Trinidad Chambliss, Mendoza and Moore.

Demond Williams Jr. stands in the pocket and delivers a pass against Ohio State.
Demond Williams Jr. stands in the pocket and delivers a pass against Ohio State. | Dave Sizer photo

The Huskies' Williams even rates two slots higher than Ohio State's Julian Sayin. his opponent last Saturday in Husky Stadium.

The ranking plays no favorites whatsoever among the more heralded signal-callers out there: Michigan's Bryce Underwood is 38th, Texas' Arch Manning is 41st and Maryland's Malik Washington, the Huskies' opposing QB this weekend, rates 48th.

Even more eye-opening are the veteran quarterbacks who aren't off to their best starts and how far they've fallen: Arizona's Noah Fafita ranks 51st, Clemson's Cade Klubnik is 54th and Penn State's Drew Allar comes in at 55th.

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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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