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Test run? Demond Williams has the freedom to get out and go

For the upcoming season, it is clear to everyone that Will Rogers is the starting quarterback for the University of Washington football team. That is not up for debate. The SEC's second-leading passer of all time from Mississippi State will prove to be a smart player who is confident in the pocket and can throw the ball out quickly.

But behind Rogers, things are a different story. When he walks into a Husky game, no matter when it may be – first quarter, fourth quarter, close game or a blowout win – freshman Demond Williams Jr. will be surveying the field, feeling the pressure around him and prone to running all over the place.

Fans will love getting up out of their seats and feeling the excitement that comes with every 20-yard run. Opponents will dread facing the improvising kid, especially after they thought they had only just started to see through Rogers, the other guy.

As Jedd Fisch and his team develop strategies to get the most out of two very different quarterbacks, it's a fair question for the UW coach to ask if his rookie quarterback is running a bit too much?

After all, Williams has a good arm and quick feet. But during a fall camp practice game, the freshman felt compelled to run four times on eight consecutive passes. His coach thinks he knows why.

“It's a natural habit as a freshman, just like as a rookie in the NFL, that you just get going quicker,” Fisch said. “You get out quicker because you're not used to having to trust everything around you unconditionally.”

Fisch has seen the same thing with mobile quarterback Jayden de Laura, who left after two seasons at Washington State to play two more at Arizona and is now finishing his career at Texas State. And then with the equally elusive Noah Fafita, who replaced the injured de Laura as a redshirt freshman and didn't want to give up the job when the other one got healthy again.

He was originally headed to Arizona when Fisch was there before following him to the UW. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Williams waxes lyrical and admits he still has work to do when it comes to his decision-making.

“I would say development is the key to success, just knowing when to run and when to pass,” he said. “You just have to know that you're always a passer until you're a runner, until you get past the line of scrimmage and become a runner.”

Demond Williams Jr. (2) and Will Rogers (7) are the two best quarterbacks at UW.

Demond Williams Jr. (2) and Will Rogers (7) are the two best quarterbacks at UW. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Fisch sees Williams' scrambling situation as a nice problem to have, one whose benefits far outweigh the downside of running out of the pocket too often. With his previous quarterbacks, he simply made sure they got plenty of reps where the decisions became more natural to them.

Again, this is not a dilemma that will keep the Huskies' new football coach up late at night, because Williams' speed is probably better than the others and he will certainly move the ball down the field.

“I think the more comfortable Demond gets, the longer he'll stay there,” Fisch said. “But when you run as fast as Demond does, we're OK with him going and running.”

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