With the 2026 season around the corner, Jedd Fisch and the Washington Huskies have one of the nation's best quarterbacks in junior Demond Williams Jr.
According to Lindy's rankings, the former four-star recruit from Basha High School in Arizona, who set the college football world ablaze in January after a brief flirtation with the transfer portal, where he was offered an additional $2 million by another program to go back on his deal with the Huskies, is the No. 11 signal-caller in the country ahead of his second full year as a starter.
That also places him as the No. 4 quarterback in the Big Ten behind Oregon's Dante Moore (No. 1), Ohio State's Julian Sayin (No. 2), and USC's Jayden Maiava (No. 9).
Lindy’s Top QB’s in CFB for 2026: 1. Dante Moore
(Oregon) 2. Julian Sayin (Ohio State) 3. Arch Manning (Texas) 4. Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) 5. Darian Mensah (Miami) 6. CJ Carr (ND) 7. Sam Leavitt (LSU) 8. John Mateer (Oklahoma) 9. Jayden Maiava (USC) 10. Drew Mestemaker…
— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) July 20, 2026
During the 2025 season, Williams finished second in the Big Ten in total yards, throwing for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns with 8 interceptions on a 69.5 completion percentage, while adding 611 yards and 6 scores on the ground. Now, without running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston in the mix after moving on to the NFL, the junior is looking to step into a bigger leadership role both on and off the field.
"I think it all starts by leading by example," Williams told the Big Ten Network's Yogi Roth. "Where I'm at now, I think that just being way more vocal and talking to all the guys, it's just a much higher level. I think I just know everybody a lot better than I did before, even a year (ago)."
"That was my first season starting, so there were still a lot of questions out there, and after having a full season under my belt, I just feel super confident to be able to speak to the team in any fashion to get the point across of what we need to do to succeed."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Demond Williams Jr. ranked among nation's top 15 QBs for 2026 season
