Brock: What stands out from Fisch’s update on UW Huskies QB

After a strong showing during his true freshman season, the future is looking bright for UW Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

With senior starter Will Rogers starting to struggle behind poor offensive line play, Williams’ dual-threat capabilities were a huge factor for the Huskies down the stretch in 2024.

A pre-spring projection of UW Huskies’ opposing QB slate in 2025

He came in during the second half against UCLA to lead the Huskies to a 31-19 victory to secure bowl eligibility, and closed the season with a tantalizing 421-yard, five-touchdown performance in a tight 35-34 loss to Louisville in the Sun Bowl.

HOW'D HE MAKE THIS PLAY?! pic.twitter.com/yEwMOKliTO

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 31, 2024

In total, Williams completed an efficient 78.1% of his passes for 944 yards and eight touchdowns to only one interceptions, and he ran for another another 282 yards and two TDs.

“There’s a young, up and coming star playing that quarterback position,” former UW quarterback Brock Huard said Tuesday during his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“He is creative. He’s wizardry. He’s Russell Wilson 2.0 possibly at the collegiate level when it comes to the strength of his arm, yet the just incredible athleticism.”

Williams is set to lead the Huskies into their second Big Ten season this fall, and he’ll have a bit of a new look to him as well. Head coach Jedd Fisch told reporters Monday that his 5-foot-11 quarterback is up to 198 pounds with a goal of reaching 200. He weighed 18o pounds last season.

That was something that Huard, a FOX college football analyst, liked to hear. He feels that bulking up will be an important factor for the undersized Williams, especially after watching Williams get sacked 10 times in the regular season finale against Oregon.

“You’re not going to survive, you’re not going to play 12, 13, 14 games at 180 pounds,” Huard said. “And the fact that he’s a whole lot closer to 200 pounds … that is a sign that he took some coaching, he took some wish lists and he went out and did the kind of work to get it done.”

UW Huskies spring practices underway

The Huskies held their first spring practice Tuesday at Husky Stadium and will take the field on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through April 26. UW’s Dawgs After Dark Spring Game takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 2. Practices will be held Monday and Wednesday of that week.

All practices are open to the public. For more information, click here.

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Caple: UW Huskies position battles to watch in spring football

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