With the college football season seemingly so close yet so far away, preseason predictions have begun to spread like wildfire across the country. College Football Playoff contenders and pretenders, Heisman favorites, coaches on the hot seat- you name it.
In the middle of many of these offseason conversations has been Washington Huskies star Demond Williams Jr., who found himself on ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit's list of top five underrated quarterbacks entering 2026. In a video posted on the college football analyst's social media pages, he made sure to include the Huskies' signal-caller as one of the more slept-on passers in college football.
In his analysis of the junior, Herbstreit called Williams "one of the better dual-threat guys in the country."
In just 16 starts and 26 total appearances, Williams has combined for 4,009 yards passing and 893 yards rushing.
The Big Ten is loaded with talent at the position this season, including Oregon's Dante Moore, Ohio State's Julian Sayin, and USC's Jayden Maiava. Due to the depth of the conference, it's a tall task for any quarterback to steal the limelight from a few future first-round picks.
Fortunately for Williams and his current draft stock, he will have the ability to prove himself head-to-head against two of the quarterbacks ahead of him, Moore and Maiava. Unfortunately for the Huskies, however, those matchups will both take place on the road.
As the now-veteran Husky quarterback aims to take the next step in his junior campaign, his name will likely continue to swirl in conversations regarding players to watch entering 2026.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Betting Big on Washington Football's Star QB
