Demond Williams Jr. | Photo Credit: The Seattle Times

No news is good news, especially when referring to the summer months as it pertains to college football.

But in late June, some great news trickled out of the Manning Passing Academy. Demond Williams Jr., the new starting quarterback for the Huskies, won the Air It Out Challenge, putting his accuracy on display and beating some of the nation’s best signal-callers, who were there as counselors. That group included Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson.

Last year, Williams Jr.’s stock skyrocketed after splitting time (and eventually supplanting) starting quarterback Will Rogers. Rogers was brought in to lead the offense and did a sufficient job at times. But he lacked the pop and big-play ability needed to get the Huskies out of tough spots. Williams Jr. has no problem in that department. With limited opportunities, he still finished with 944 yards and eight touchdowns through the air, and chipped in an additional two touchdowns in the run game.

After wrestling away the QB1 role from Rogers last season, the Huskies hit a different gear. The dynamism of Williams Jr. (and the offense as a whole) was on full display in the Huskies’ shootout loss to Louisville in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

With Rogers now gone, Williams Jr. has full control of the offense. He was a spark plug in spurts last season, and I fully expect him to explode onto the scene in 2025. Without a doubt in my mind, Williams Jr. is the best quarterback in college football that not enough people are talking about.

What I believe is great and all, but what does the data tell us? Using data from Hudl IQ (and what I know about this year's roster), I'm ready to make the argument for Williams Jr.’s big leap this fall.

Last season, Williams Jr. wowed UW fans with his unique balance of creating big plays and taking exactly what the defense gave him. He showed some serious flashes of big-play ability in the run game. And when given time in a clean pocket, he made defenses pay with accuracy.

Source: Hudl IQ

Using the Hudl IQ Player Radar, one of the first things that jumps out about Williams Jr. is his Explosive % (13.0%), nearly triple the rate of explosive pass plays when compared to average Big 10 quarterback play. This figure is a simple but effective measurement of just how exceptional Williams Jr. was at creating big plays using his arm.

Other standout figures include his CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expected) (9.9%), which is a metric used to evaluate a quarterback's accuracy by comparing their actual completion percentage to a model's expectation, which factors in variables like air yards, down, distance, and pressure.

Williams Jr.’s abnormally high CPOE is a good indicator that last season, he exhibited elite accuracy and made plenty of challenging throws.

His positive figures for EPA, EPA/Pass and EPA/Rush are also good indicators that he is just generally a positive influence on the Huskies’ offense.

Source: Hudl IQ

Outside of just being a net positive for the Huskies…peep those rushing figures! His Yards/Rush (6.4) and EPA/QB rush (0.22) were both well above average when compared to average Big 10 quarterback play. Couple his rushing abilities with his documented big-play passing abilities, and well, buddy, you’ve got yourself a dynamite star in the making.

Granted, all of these figures come from a relatively small sample size. But these numbers are strong indicators that Williams Jr. is an absolute weapon, and I’m banking on him taking a monster leap in 2025.

Source: Hudl IQ

Using the Hudl IQ Player Comparison tool, we can see that last season, in a limited sample size, Demond Williams Jr. had a 78.2% Similarity % as South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

Sellers burst onto the scene last season, finishing with over 2,500 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, along with almost 700 yards and seven touchdowns in the run game. Particularly down the stretch of last season, Sellers was an absolute weapon, shredding defenses left, right and center. He was so effective that he almost dragged the Gamecocks to the College Football Playoff after a late-season victory over eventual CFP contender Clemson.

Williams Jr. will surely be asked to shoulder a huge part of the Huskies’ offense this season. Much like Sellers, we’ll have to see how he responds when he’s asked to handle a much bigger workload. But I feel great about the evaluation of Williams Jr. and think Sellers is a perfect comp for him.

Both players have exhibited some productive downfield passing abilities and have shown particularly brilliant flashes with their running abilities. For what it’s worth, I think Williams Jr. might already be a much more refined passer than Sellers. Sellers is probably a better rusher up to this point, but I don’t see why Williams Jr. can’t take leaps in that department this season.

If you’re a big fan of what Sellers does at South Carolina, you might as well hop on the Demond Williams Jr. bandwagon while you’re at it. Sellers is being projected as a potential top pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Could Williams Jr. be next in line?

Taking a look at the 2025 Washington football schedule, I suspect the Huskies will get off to a good start with a trio of non-conference games. If they can take care of business against CSU and Wazzu, UW should be 3-0 before it hosts Ohio State on Saturday, September 27. That will undoubtedly be a tough game, but I wouldn’t rule out something frisky happening. Other challenging games include contests on the road against Michigan and at home against Illinois and Oregon.

I have a sneaky feeling that Washington will be much improved compared to the 2024 team, even if the record doesn’t always show it. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Huskies finish in the 8-4 range, even if they resemble a team that should be knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff.

I’m all in on Demond Williams Jr. entering the 2025 season. The sophomore signal-caller has shown enough dual-threat capabilities to make me believe he’s going to be a Top 3 or 4 quarterback in the Big 10 conference this season.

Last year, he passed the eye test. The data backed up his play, too.

I fully believe Demond Williams Jr. is going to explode onto the scene for the Huskies. And I can’t wait to watch him ball out.

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