Inside The Huskies

Williams Makes It 3-for-3 in UW Supplying Big Ten Offensive Player of Week

The Huskies quarterback matched Jonah Coleman, who's received the conference honor twice.
Dan Raley|
Demond Williams Jr. takes off on a 23-yard touchdown run in the Apple Cup as his sideline erupts behind him.
Demond Williams Jr. takes off on a 23-yard touchdown run in the Apple Cup as his sideline erupts behind him. | Dave Sizer photo

For the third time in three games, the University of Washington football team has supplied a co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. sharing that top playmaking honor with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, the former California QB.

Williams, a 5-foot-11, 198-pound sophomore from Chandler, Arizona, was singled out after completing 16 of 19 passes for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns, and rushing 13 times for 88 yards and a another score, in a 59-24 Apple Cup victory over Washington State in Pullman.

"Rightfully so, Demond played fantastic," UW coach Jedd Fisch said in his Monday media briefing. "I don't know how much better one could play."

Demond Williams Jr. and Jedd Fisch share an Apple Cup moment.
Demond Williams Jr. and Jedd Fisch share an Apple Cup moment. | Dave Sizer photo

Williams joined teammate Jonah Coleman in receiving this particular Big Ten reward, with the senior running back saluted following each of the first two UW games.

Coleman rushed for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns against Colorado State and ran for 111 yards and 5 scores against UC Davis.

On the first Husky series in the Palouse, Williams threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Denzel Boston to get things rolling.

The second time the UW (3-0) had the ball, the elusive quarterback went through a huge hole over the right side and sprinted 23 yards for a TD untouched.

In the second half, Williams drilled touchdown passes of 7 yards to Boston, 34 to Coleman and 59 to Penn State transfer Omari Evans.

"He continues to make good decisions with the football," Fisch said. "Demond is really a special player. Nineteen years old. He's playing at an exceptional level. Very poised. He's only getting better every week."

Williams shared the honor with Mendoza, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior from Miami, Florida, who spent three seasons at Cal but never played against the Huskies.

Transferring to Indiana, he led the Hoosiers (4-0 overfall, 1-0 Big Ten) to a stunning 63-10 beatdown of Illinois over the weekend. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 267 yards and 5 scores. Not really a dual threat, he had 7 rushes for 4 yards.

Unfortunately, the UW and Indiana don't play this season, negating any potential Williams-Mendoza quarterback battle.

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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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