As Arch Manning and others struggle, UW’s Demond Williams Jr. benefits from experience
Demond Williams extends his reach to earn the first down in the third quarter against Colorado State on Saturday. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
By Mike Vorel Seattle Times columnist
Jedd Fisch saw the future.
So he played the freshman.
On Nov. 9, 2024, the Huskies trailed No. 4 Penn State 28-0 at halftime inside a sold-out Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. Washington had been outgained 264-71 in a nightmarish first half as the Nittany Lions laid waste to both lines of scrimmage. Abdul Carter — Penn State’s pass-rush prodigy and future No. 3 overall NFL draft pick — stacked four tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble in the win, while 110,233 white-clad fans applauded the pummeling.
Given the circumstances — a superior opponent, a hostile setting and an overwhelmed UW offensive line — this was a difficult position in which to put a freshman.
But Fisch gave Demond Williams Jr. the ball anyway.
The results, you might remember, were predictably mixed. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Williams completed 6 of 10 passes for 60 yards, replacing senior starter Will Rogers for the entire second half. On his first play from scrimmage, Williams overthrew wide-open tight end Decker DeGraaf on a double reverse pass that would have resulted in an untouched 34-yard touchdown. Williams was sacked three times and consistently clobbered, while Penn State capped a convincing 35-6 win.
It might have looked like the helpless goat being lowered into the Tyrannosaurus Rex pen in “Jurassic Park.”
But there was a method to the mauling.
“What happens is, you get these opportunities,” Fisch said two days after that defeat. “And now when Demond gets in there next year, he’s going to have experience playing in front of 107,000 people in a ‘White Out.’ He’s going to have the experience of going against the No. 4 team in the country, that had one loss by one score against Ohio State. He’s going to have the experience of, ‘What does it feel like to try to make a slant throw into tight coverage on fourth-and-5?’ and be able to draw from that experience.”
Last weekend it was apparent just how much that experience matters. Texas quarterback Arch Manning struggled in just his third career start, completing 17 of 30 passes while throwing for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 14-7 loss to then-No. 3 Ohio State. Ohio State sophomore Julian Sayin (13 of 20 passing, 126 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions) and Notre Dame redshirt freshman CJ Carr (19 of 30, 221 yards, 2 TD, 1 interception, 1 rush TD) also debuted for top-10 teams, showcasing both potential and obvious growing pains.
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As for Williams? The sophomore earned his first win as Washington’s starter Saturday night, completing 18 of 24 passes (75%) for 226 yards and a touchdown, plus another 68 rushing yards in a 38-21 victory over Colorado State.
“I thought he did a good job of managing and controlling the game for the most part,” UW offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty said. “You could see the poise and the experience come out as the full-time starter going into the year. I thought that really showed.”
Last season’s lumps might have prepared Williams for sophomore success. He was sacked 10 times in his first career start, a 49-21 loss last November at No. 1 Oregon. He also threw a pick-six to start the Sun Bowl, before rebounding by completing 26 of 32 passes for 374 yards and five total touchdowns in a 35-34 loss to Louisville.
Still, there were highlights amid the lessons. Like a third-and-12 scramble along the sideline for 43 yards and a 25-yard strike to Denzel Boston against Penn State. Or an improbable, pirouetting 33-yard completion to Jeremiah Hunter against Louisville.
In fact, Williams completed 78% of his passes and threw for 944 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception in 13 games (two starts) as a true freshman, also adding 282 rushing yards and two more scores.
Williams was fun to watch, even with the growing pains.
Because of them, he should be even better.
“Just poise and joy,” UW left tackle Carver Willis said, describing his quarterback. “He’s very clearheaded, and he enjoys every moment out there. That’s two of the biggest things I took away.
“He also loves contact. It’s rare that a quarterback will stick his hat in there and be like, ‘No, I don’t really want to run out of bounds. I’d rather take those 3, 4 yards.’ That’s rare. That’s one thing we noticed, even to the point that some guys were like, ‘Hey, slide once in a while.’ ”
Even with the lumps, Williams has more to learn.
But he took a sack or two (or 10) against Oregon so he won’t against Ohio State. He blew a double reverse pass against Penn State so he won’t against Washington State. He made mistakes as a freshman to be better prepared to succeed as a sophomore.
At least, that’s Fisch’s hypothesis. We’ll see how well it works.
“Demond made plays, didn’t make plays, scrambled for a first down on fourth down, scrambled up the sideline for [43] yards, got sacked out of touchdown range on a third-and-7 on the [7-yard line],” Fisch said Nov. 11, assessing Williams’ inconsistent play against Penn State. “So we’re able to go through every one of those scenarios with him and talk about, ‘Hey man, when that happens next year, and we’re playing Ohio State and they want to go all up zero [blitzing] in our stadium, what’s our answer?’ Or, ‘Hey, I don’t want your first time dealing with a fourth-and-5 on the 5 being in Pullman Week 3 next year,’ or whatever it might be. I want it to be now.
“So he’s really beginning to learn from it. I’m sure he’d love the double reverse pass back. But I also know that next year he’s not going to miss that throw.”
The best news for UW football fans?
Next year is here.
Mike Vorel: mvorel@seattletimes .com. Mike Vorel is a sports columnist at The Seattle Times.
Comments
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Thanks Taft!
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This is Manning's third year at Texas. He was brought along similar to Demond with one extra year
Maybe we wait to see Williams against tOSU before we crown his ass though
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Demond needs to get better at pre-snap reads and quick decisions. Judd needs to figure out how to have WRs who can get separation against teams like Colorado State too.
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Arch Manning sucked because he sucks. Change his last name to Huard (too soon?) and he's the backup for Central.
