Williams Had Game For The Ages -- And He's Still Just Getting Started

For pregame warm-ups against Rutgers, Demond Williams Jr. ran out of the tunnel and into Husky Stadium on Friday with fellow University of Washington quarterbacks Kai Horton, Dash Beierly and Kini McMillan.

Hours later, he left the field in the company of Lamar Jackson, Archie Manning and 13 others.

Offering a dual-threat performance for the ages, the 5-foot-11, 198-pound Williams threw for 402 yards and rushed for another 136, accounting for four touchdowns, all of which put himself in historic company.

“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” he said. “You could tell their main focus was on Jonah, so being able to pull some of those zone reads and just get as many yards as I could was definitely pivotal.”

Demond Williams leaves the field after beating Rutgers 38-19. | Dave Sizer photo

His 538 yards of total offense set a school record, breaking the previous mark of 529 set by Michael Penix Jr. in 2022 -- in a 49-39 victory over Jedd Fisch and the Arizona Wildcats in Seattle.

"Demond Williams is a superstar," Fisch said, ticking off all of his big numbers agaisnt Rutgers. “He is special and we’ve known that for a lot of years now.”

Williams' outburst was 29 yards more than what's long been known as the most versatile UW quarterback outing -- Marques Tuiasosopo's 207-yard rushing and 302-yard passing effort in a 35-30 victory over Stanford in 1999, also in Seattle.

Demond Williams takes off and runs against Rutgers. | Dave Sizer photo

The exceedingly speedy Williams had runs of 42, 25 and 30 yards against Rutgers, with his longest rush coming on the Huskies' first offensive snap of the game.

Both his 402 passing and 136 rushing totals were career highs, surpassing his 374-yard passing effort in a 35-34 Sun Bowl loss to Louisville last season and his 88 yards on the ground coming in this year's Apple Cup against Washington State.

Demond Williams takes a hit from Rutgers' Jett Elad. | Dave Sizer photo

While Williams' skill set has been compared favorably to Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray, his Rutgers showing propelled him into the rarefied Jackson stratosphere.

A former Louisville and now Baltimore Ravens quarterback, and considered the NFL's swiftest player at his position, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Jackson provided a 411-yard passing and 199-yard rushing showing in a 62-28 victory over Syracuse in 2016.

UW's Demond Williams Jr. is just the 16th QB in NCAA-FBS history to pass for 400 yards and rush for 100 yards in a single game. pic.twitter.com/2d6FgH18Pg
— Husky Football News (@HuskyFBNews) October 11, 2025

Just six games into his sophomore season, Williams has plenty of time in his career, maybe another 30-plus games or so, to make a run at Jackson's best college numbers.

The oldest of the Manning quarterbacks, Archie came up with numbers similar to Williams' stat line when he threw for 411 yards and rushed for 104 for Mississippi in a 33-32 loss to Alabama in 1969. At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, Manning was an exemplary athlete but not necessarily an elusive player running the ball.

Williams is just beginning to make a believer out of everyone nationwide that he might become the most dangerous quarterback in the country.

That will happen when he gets an even better idea of when to take off and pile up as many yards as he can with his feet and becomes more willing to throw the ball away to keep defenses honest.

For now, Rutgers is his high-water mark for production.

"It means a lot," he said. "I pray to God for nights like this."

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