The drama has not subsided surrounding the LSU Tigers quarterback search for next season as another wrinkle hit the situation on Thursday night.
A few days after announcing his intentions to enter the transfer portal, Washington Huskies star Demond Williams Jr. has now stated that he will not leave his school, per his Instagram.
This has been the biggest story in college athletics over the past few days, as Williams put in his transfer portal request just a few days after signing a contract to return as the Huskies quarterback.
It was suspected that the Tigers would be one of the two teams, alongside the Miami Hurricanes, to make a push for Williams. He was once committed to play for Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels, but ended up following Jedd Fisch from the Arizona Wildcats to Washington.
Williams was one of the most dynamic athletes in the sport this season. He completed 69.5% of his passes for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He also ran 143 times for 611 yards and six scores.
It is clear why Kiffin and LSU wanted him to be their quarterback next year. The issue with him having just signed a contract with the Huskies proved to be too much, which is a fairly new problem in the modern college football landscape.
Per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Tigers would have had to pay Washington $4 million and suffered a reduction of that amount from next year's revenue-share pool. That's a lot of money on top of the reported $6 million they would have had to pay Williams.
LSU will now have to turn to their other options once again. Sam Leavitt remains the top quarterback unsigned and he was in the middle of a visit in Baton Rouge when this whole Williams saga began.
DJ Lagway was another rumored option, but he committed to the Baylor Bears on Thursday. Dylan Raiola and Deuce Knight are the only other top quarterbacks available.