Demond Williams Jr. was one of several signal-callers was named as a player to watch for the Maxwell Award.
The Washington Huskies football team has officially begun summer/fall training camp, which means that college football is on the horizon.
The Huskies have a heap of expectations internally and externally ahead of the beginning of the 2026-27 season, which will be the third under head coach Jedd Fisch.
Fisch was hired ahead of the 2024 season after helping rebuild the Arizona Wildcats, and was brought in to do the same with Washington after the team lost the majority of its talent from its championship runner-up squad to the NFL draft or transfer portal and then-head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama Crimson Tide.
There's anticipations that Fisch will replicate the same success in year three with the Huskies that he did with the Wildcats after guiding his current team to a 6-7 record in his first season and 9-4 last year.
Fisch was named to the preseason watchlist for the Dodd Trophy, a representation of the anticipated expectations for him and the team.
Another reason for the expectations placed on the team is junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who was named to a preseason watchlist of his own.
Williams was one of many players identified as one to watch for the Maxwell Award, which is handed out to the best all-around college player in the country. It's considered the second-highest honor a player can receive outside of the Heisman Trophy. The award was established in 1937.
Williams is one of 27 juniors among the watchlist and was one of 17 players from the Big Ten mentioned. That number of players is the most for any conference on the list.
The third-year signal-caller is coming off his first full year as a starting quarterback. In his first full season under center, Williams completed 69.5% of his passes for 3,065 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added another 611 yards and six touchdowns on the ground on 143 carries.
Williams' 3,676 total yards led the conference, and he earned Big Ten all-honorable mention honors as a result.
The junior quarterback will have familiarity with a lot of the offensive pieces returning to the team. All starters on the offensive line, with the exception of five-star Class of 2026 recruit (and projected left tackle) Kodi Greene, return from last season. Two of the top targets for Williams in the spring, starting slot receiver Dezmen Roebuck and starting tight end Decker DeGraaf, are also returning to the squad.
