Washington Huskies Quarterback Makes Another Preseason Award Watchlist

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Awards are as high for the Washington Huskies football team as they have been since its College Football Playoff runner-up finish in the 2024 national championship game.

In addition to being ranked 17th in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, several individuals on the team, including linebacker Xe'ree Alexander, linebacker Jacob Manu, center Landen Hatchett and punter Hunter Green have been named to preseason watchlist for a variety of awards.

Another player that's been featured on preseason watchlists has been third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who may be the most-watched player on the Huskies this season individually.

Williams was named to the preseason watchlist for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the best all-around player in college football.

On Thursday, Williams was named to the watchlist for another potential honor, the Davey O'Brien Award.

The Davey O'Brien trophy is annually given to the best player in college football. Williams was one of 30 signal-callers to earn the honor. 

Williams was one of six quarterbacks from the Big Ten featured on the list. The other five were Rocco Becht (Penn State), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Dante Moore (Oregon), Josh Hoover (Indiana) and Jayden Maiava (Southern California).

Williams will be entering this season coming off his first full year as a starting quarterback. In his first year as a full-time signal-caller, Williams led the Big Ten in total yardage. He completed 69.5% of his passes for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. He added another 611 yards and six touchdowns on 143 carries, giving him 3,676 total yards.

Williams will be without several of his top weapons and teammates on the offense this season. Starting left tackle Carver Willis (San Francisco 49ers), leading receiver Denzel Boston (Cleveland Browns) and leading rusher Jonah Coleman (Denver Broncos) were all drafted to the NFL this offseason.

Despite losing NFL-level talent, the third-year quarterback will have capable of players who could potentially fill in at those vacated spots. Five-star Class of 2026 offensive lineman Kodi Greene is set to take over at left tackle. The highest-graded offensive lineman in Conference USA last season, Kolt Dieterich, will also be able to fill in all over the line. Dieterich transferred to UW from Sam Houston State this offseason.

Second-year running back Quaid Carr and fourth-year running back/Oregon transfer Jayden Limar are the likeliest candidates to take over in the backfield. Fourth-year wide receiver Rashid Williams, sixth-year pass-catcher/Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss and second-year wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck will likely be the go-to targets in the passing game.

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