Demond Williams Jr., in his first game as the clear starting quarterback for the Washington Huskies, stepped up in a huge way. He was efficient through the air and he made it clear that he’s going to be very fun to watch in Jedd Fisch’s system as we move forward.
The quarterback of the future on Montlake is also the quarterback of now. He’s improved throughout the season and is clearly ready to be the full time starter for Washington. One heck of a debut for the young passer as he completed 17 of 20 attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown.
No picks. No errant throws. Efficient and clean play. Plus, on multiple plays, Williams was able to extend things with his legs and keep the Ducks defense on its heels. Williams looked really good at times and it’ll be fun to see how he develops.
There’s only one problem with all of that though. The Washington Huskies weren’t able to keep Williams protected. The Oregon Ducks defensive front wreaked havoc on UW’s offensive line and routinely got after Williams (and everyone else in the Washington backfield).
Oregon Ducks defense terrorized Washington Huskies offensive line, routinely punished UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr.
I, for one, would have appreciated it if Williams hadn’t been sacked on 10 different occasions. I would have loved it if Oregon hadn’t racked up 16 tackles for loss. Washington had no answer for the remarkably talented and physical Ducks defense.
And that was infuriating to watch at times.
On just sacks, Washington lost 49 yards. Folks, that’s a lot of yards. On tackles for loss, the Huskies lost 65 yards.
Now, it’s not like Washington will end up facing a defensive front that is as terrifying as Oregon’s front seven happens to be again this season. That just won’t happen.
But the Huskies will need to get this problem addressed before next season. Because Williams, Jonah Coleman, and Adam Mohammed will almost certainly be the focal points of the offense next season. I think we’d all appreciate it if they had a fair shot at running the ball without getting stuffed behind the line of scrimmage in painful ways on a regular basis.