For Demond Williams Jr., loyalty runs deep. The QB is among the highly anticipated names in the Big Ten, though the Huskies are yet to get back to their glory days under Jedd Fisch. Now returning in his second year at Seattle, Williams should put the rest of the programs on notice. He replaces Will Rogers this season as QB1 and is expected to take the program back to its usual standards. But all of this might not have been the case if Demond Williams hadn’t picked the Huskies.

Williams was the 13th-best QB in the class of 2024, and his recruitment process saw multiple sharp turns. He first committed to Ole Miss, and then Jedd Fisch made an aggressive push for the QB. Impressed by the HC’s pitch, he made his way over to Arizona, where Fisch had just registered a 10-3 season. Then Washington called, and Williams dutifully followed his coach to Seattle. But it wasn’t an easy decision for him, since he is an Arizona native.

He said in a July 23 episode of the Kings of the North podcast, “I would say just going through that, just a lot of talks like my family, my mom, my dad, you know. Just trying to figure out what’s best for me. And, you know, I feel like going to the Pacific Northwest, going to Seattle, is definitely the best decision for me.” And he had a brilliant first season, registering 944 yards across 12 games—more than what Arch Manning had last year.

Despite being away from home, his dad remembers him fondly, as Williams continues to grow in his career. Doug Lesmerises asked if his father rang him up whenever he saw a mention of Williams in the media. “He’ll just call me up and just say like, have I seen this, this, whatever. I’ll just be like, ‘Nah, I haven’t.’ So it was just, we’ll just chop it up or whatever. But yeah, that’s it,” he replied. He also had a warm message for his father, who was a cornerback for Michigan State.

“I’ve been playing my whole life, and I feel like this is really all I know as far as, you know, athletically. And, you know, it’s been such a gift to me and my family. My dad played football in college. So, you know, it was kind of just like in the works already,” he said. He paved the way for his Demond, having played JUCO football at Pima Community College. In 2004, Williams Sr. was named to the first-team All-Western States Football League. He shared his love for football with his son and will now watch on proudly as the QB plays in one of the best conferences in the sport.

Williams will enter the season as one of the most promising QBs. Though he did receive a poor rating in a recent ranking. Jedd Fisch has nothing but praise for this future star.

Fisch backs Demond Williams Jr. amid poor rankings

Washington and Demond Williams Jr. are both underplayed in the Big 10 this year. But with the potential the QB alone adds to this squad, that might not be the case in the season. Big Ten’s preseason polls ranked the Huskies at No. 10. Fisch still has the first-year pass to escape some of the blame for last year’s poor 6-7 finish. Williams, on the other hand, was ranked as the 9 best QB in the conference by USA Today. He was behind starting newbies like Julian Sayin, Dante Moore, and Bryce Underwood. The Michigan QB comes with a total prep career yardage of more than 12,000 yards. Williams, in his prep career, passed for 10,035 yards and rushed for 2,783 yards, per MaxPreps.

This means Washington’s offense will be majorly upgraded with Williams’ addition. Jedd Fisch was confident about his QB making a good impact this year. “He’s really, just a special […] football player. He’s an incredible individual, which I hope you guys will learn about later on,” he said, addressing the press during his run at the Big Ten Media Days. They both have things to do to become talking points once again in the Big 10 conference and be on par with some worthy competition.

“If Williams is genuinely good — and doesn’t take a million sacks — then there’s a legitimate chance for a second-year leap for the UW offense,” ESPN‘s Bill Connelly wrote in a seemingly better and just review of the QB. It’s an important year for the coach and the QB, who no longer have the freedom to be the newbies in the conference. The hopes for the Huskies this year are as high as 9 wins. If Williams fits into Fisch’s proven offensive systems that have QBs who can move quickly, the ceiling becomes higher than what everyone sees.