The Huskies are set to begin their second year under Jedd Fisch on August 30. Despite their 6-7 finish last year, some analysts are predicting better returns for Washington in 2025. There have been a few 9-win predictions, but most agree that they will do better than 7.5 wins odds. The reason for the optimism? The QB Demond Williams Jr. and the offensive weapons around him. The head coach has confirmed the role of one of those weapons—his freshman wide receiver, Raiden Vines-Bright.

One would not always expect a true freshman player to start. When that happens, in rare cases, the players are five-star recruits. But defying these odds, three-star Raiden Vines Bright came in strong, putting in a memorable fall camp performance and earning the spring game MVP. The effect of these heroics was then shown at a recent press conference, where Jedd Fisch himself didn’t hesitate to name Vines-Bright a starter for the first game.

“I think Raiden will start for us right now, going into Saturday. And I think that he deserves it based on how he practiced, how he prepared, the plays that he made when the opportunity presented itself,” said a confident Jedd Fisch. Not just that, the Huskies’ head coach described how the wide receiver has continued to put in those ‘high-quality’ performances even with two days left for their first game against Colorado State.

“We saw the plays he made in the scrimmage when the opportunity presented itself. His practices have continued. He’s continued to show up. So we’ve got some young freshmen who are making plays, and Buck and Raiden are going to be playing out there on Saturday night,” concluded Jedd Fisch. The true freshman, after being enrolled as a three-star lesser-known recruit from IMG Academy, has risen through the team’s ranks.

In the fall camp, Raiden had shown his route running and agility as he caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kini McMilan. The opportunities became available since Huskies’ ace wide receiver Denzel Boston was sidelined, which enabled the player to showcase his talent. Moreover, Raiden’s multi-sport talent, having been a track athlete with a 100-meter timing of 10.82 seconds and performances in triple jump events at high school, provides him with another dimension to his offensive brilliance.

Demond Williams Jr. is expected to be the difference maker, as per Jedd Fisch

Apart from Vines-Bright, the team will have Denzel Boston as its primary wide receiver, who received 834 yards last year. Omari Evans, who arrived recently from Penn State, likely will play at the Z position, and redshirt junior Kevin Green Jr. will probably feature in the slot. But for these players to effectively be on their A game, Demond Williams will have to be in sync. And according to Jedd Fisch, Williams is already doing more than that.

“We really have spent a ton of time just talking about coverages. talking to him about audibles. talking to him about seeing the big picture, when to throw the ball away versus taking a sack, when out of the pocket, and when to say when. And when you have the type of skill that a guy like Demond has, it’s a very hard decision to know, should I hang in there a little longer and use my feet, or should I just throw it away and live another down and see what it looks like? So we’ve tried our best. Given those live opportunities to see and feel that, and then, you know, let him just continue to own this offense,” said Jedd Fisch.

Demond Williams Jr. was definitely a bright spot for Jedd Fisch last season, even if the team didn’t have a massive breakthrough. He threw for 944 yards with a super impressive 78.1% completion rate! On top of that, he really contributed to the running game by rushing for 282 yards. Now that he’s back and looking even more developed than last year, Washington fans have a lot to be excited about!