Anthony Wilson
As Washington prepares for its spring game on Friday, Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers still appears the favorite to succeed Michael Penix Jr. However, a rushing attack from freshman Demond Williams Jr. added some unexpected intrigue to the Huskies quarterback battle.
Williams raised eyebrows after following first-year coach Jedd Fisch from Arizona to Washington. He first put a chokehold on the QB2 position upon arriving in Seattle, which may have triggered the departure of fellow freshman Dermaricus Davis.
“From the outside looking in, it looks like Davis saw the writing on the wall due to Williams playing so well this spring,” Chris Fetters said. by Dawgman247 said. “He (Williams) has really hit the ground running, and it’s easy to see why Jedd Fisch and Jimmie Dougherty recruited him hard originally. He’s a more athletic, dynamic version of Laura and Noah Fifita’s Jayden. His arm strength is so as good as any true freshman I’ve ever seen, and he didn’t attack the QB battle like a true freshman.”
But the climb to first place won’t be so easy. Even with all of Williams’ advantages and promise, Rogers’ credentials should not be ignored. He left the SEC as the league’s all-time leader in pass completions (1,301), second in career passing yards (12,315) and fourth in career passing yards (94). One of Fisch’s first orders of business in Washington was to convince Rogers to withdraw his name from the transfer portal in January.
“It makes sense that Rogers would start the season as Washington’s No. 1 quarterback, but the fact that the competition was much tighter than expected is a testament to the work that Williams has done,” Fetters said.
The proven battle between the veteran and the talented freshman quarterback is nothing new; the archetype happens on college campuses every spring. If they last too long, however, contests like this can create a void in leadership and harm team chemistry heading into important summer practices. But they can also add valuable depth at the most important position on the field. That’s especially important for Washington, which comes out of spring practice with just two scholarship call-ups on the roster.
“We would like to get out of this and have a quarterback, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have to prepare everyone,” said the UW passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Jimmie Dougherty said. “Everyone needs to be prepared, especially now, but that doesn’t change much. (Noah) Fifita wasn’t our starter last year, at the beginning of the year he was called up and came in and did a great job, so you always need to have your whole room and make sure everyone is improving because you never know what that could happen.”
A new era
With 10 players called up for this year’s tournament NFL Draftthe Huskies were primed for at least a modest rebuild in 2024. The work turned into a complete overhaul in January when coach Kalen DeBoer left the program to succeed Nick Saban at Alabama.
The Huskies lost all three quarterbacks, including Heisman runner-up Penix. They also said goodbye to their top seven receivers (Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, Jack Westover, Germie Bernard, Devin Culp and Dillon Johnson) and all five members of their Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line (Troy Fautanu, Nate Kalepo, Parker Brailsford, Julius Buelow and Roser Rosengarten).
The defense has a little more continuity with starters Elijah Jackson (cornerback), Alphonzo Tuputala (linebacker) and Voi Tunuufi (EDGE) to build around, but there are more new faces than old on that side of the ball as well.
Friday night will be the first time fans see Fisch’s extensive roster rebuild, but the version of Washington that takes the field at 9:30 p.m. ET will be far from a finished product. The Huskies’ new coach is also expected to be an active player in the transfer portal in the coming weeks.
“We’re just trying to decide what kind of football team we’re going to be,” Fisch told the Seattle Times. “I tell these guys, in about four to six weeks, we’ll know who our team is for 2024. And then when we know who that team is, then that team will carry us all the way to the end, hopefully (next) January.”
