Demond Williams Jr. is among college football's most important players

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Heading into the 2026 season, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly, there are few players in all of college football as important to their team's success as Washington Huskies quarterback Demond Williams Jr.

The analyst ranked him as the No. 9 most important player in the country ahead of his second full year as coach Jedd Fisch's starter, which places him third in the Big Ten behind Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover (No. 2) and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (No. 6) after he completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns along with 8 interceptions in 2025, while adding 611 yards and 6 scores on the ground.

"Williams' first season as UW's starter was a thrill ride: He completed 20 passes of 30-plus yards with 14 rushes of 20-plus, and Washington leaped from 6-7 to 9-4 and from 66th to 20th in offensive SP+," Connelly wrote.

"Against three top-20 defenses, however, he was dismal — 4.5 yards per dropback, 9.0 points per game — and he got starry-eyed and briefly entered the transfer portal despite re-signing with the Huskies. Assuming he has regained his teammates' trust (I bet he has), the biggest issue will be that 'beating good defenses' thing: Washington is a projected favorite in nine games, but its fate will be decided by season-ending games against Indiana and Oregon."

With those two games against teams that have gone to the College Football Playoff in both years of the 12-team format, along with an October matchup with USC looming, Williams will need to be at his best in the big moments, especially now that running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston have moved on to the NFL.

"I think it's through bad moments, having resiliency in those games," Williams said on the Locked On Huskies podcast. "Not waiting until the next game to turn it back on necessarily or needing a bad game to kind of flip the switch. I think it's through those games, understanding how to have a fast-track mindset, how to flip the script, and I've been working with our mental health guides, just to continue to talk to them every single day, and it's helping me be in a better scenario for those moments."

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Demond Williams Jr. is among college football's most important players

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