Challenge From Elijah Brown Could be What Demond Williams Jr. Needs

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team has a lot of questions to answer coming off a 41-24 loss to the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes on Oct. 9.

One of those questions pertains to the quarterback room.

Starting third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. exited the game before halftime due to a rib injury and potential concussion evaluation. He finished 6-for-11 for 69 yards and ran 11 times for -8 yards before he was knocked out of the game.

Third-year quarterback Elijah Brown, who transferred from the Stanford Cardinal this offseason, entered the game and did well in the final two drives of the first half and the second half. He finished 28-for-39 for 251 yards and three touchdowns.

The team will offer a public injury update on Williams in a Monday news conference, but UW head coach Jedd Fisch clarified in a postgame interview that, if both quarterbacks are healthy, Williams will be the starter.

If the Chandler, Ariz., native is unable to go for an extended period of time, then Brown will be tasked with salvaging the second half of the season for UW. The team is currently 3-3 (0-3 in Big Ten play) and yet to score more than 24 points against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent this season.

If Brown does get the nod and posts performances similar to the game against the Hawkeyes, then there will likely have to be a conversation internally among the coaching staff which signal-caller to go with.

However, a solid stretch from Brown could be exactly what Williams needs to return to his typical form.

Williams is just a year removed from leading the Big Ten in total yardage in his first full season as a starter. He had 3,676 yards (3,065 passing, 611 rushing) and 31 total touchdowns (25 passing, six rushing) to eight interceptions while completing 69.5% of his passes. This season, he's completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,396 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He's ran 64 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns.

The third-year quarterback has regressed this season to the point where some fans have clamored for Brown to get the nod at starting quarterback.

At times, Williams has looked mentally unsure, and there has been several situations of him either leaving a clean pocket and running into pressure or attempting to force himself to make a play with the pocket collapsing.

Coming out of high school, Brown was viewed as a recruit comparable to Williams. The former was ranked as the 247th-best player in the nation, the 16th-best quarterback in the Class of 2024 and the 23rd-best player in California, per the 247Sports composite. 

Williams was ranked as the 205th-best player in the nation, the 12th-best quarterback in the class and the fourth-best player in Arizona, per the 247Sports composite.

Brown had his own struggles that he's seemed to have worked through in his last stop with Stanford. While with the Cardinal, Brown completed 58.3% of his passes for 1,103 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions across nine games.

Brown has fought through his adversity from his time at Stanford, and now it appears that Williams, who already entered the season with a lot of criticism after attempting to transfer out of the program before renegging on his decision, is going through similar struggles.

Perhaps a push from Brown as a potential starter could be the spark that lights a fire under Williams.

Barring a miracle run of solid, notable and consecutive wins to end the season, UW is likely already out of the running for a College Football Playoff spot. If the program wants to salvage the season, the quarterback position cannot be one of consistent turmoil.

If Williams has pressure to perform via a legitimate contender for the starting job in the quarterback room, that could be one route that leads to him returning to his 2025 form.