Fisch Promises His Freshman QB Everything in Making Him a Future Success

The UW football coach lays out his plan for Demond Williams Jr. with the Huskies.

UW QB Demond Williams Jr. was responsible for five touchdowns against Louisville, throwing four and running for one. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

EL PASO, Texas -- As with most postgame interview sessions, the one at the Sun Bowl for the University of Washington football team was fairly brief following a 35-34 loss to Louisville. There's only so much you say after coming up short on the scoreboard.

Within 15 minutes of the game ending on a missed two-point pass and an ensuing onside kick, Husky coach Jedd Fisch, senior linebacker Carson Bruener, senior wide receiver Giles Jackson and freshman Demond Williams Jr. each took a seat in an enclosed end-zone room and stared out at maybe a dozen media members recording them with TV cameras or iPhones.

What happened next was not so much a question-and-answer session, but a testimonial to the almost unreal expectations set aside for Williams, for whom Fisch has invested almost everything in putting the UW program back in the playoff conversation after finishing 6-7 with this closing setback..

Not long after the first-year signal-caller from Chandler, Arizona, had passed for 374 yards and 4 touchdowns against Louisville and had the ACC team wondering what it had to do to stop him, his Husky coach didn't hold back in what he envisions for the 5-foot-11, 187-pound teenager, who's just 18.

In so many words, he mentioned future consideration for Williams with the Heisman Trophy, which forever has eluded all UW other players, including Michael Penix Jr., who finished as the runner-up 12 months ago.

UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and wide receiver Giles Jackson meet with the media after their 35-34 Sun Bowl loss. / Dan Raley

The coach also slipped in the NFL draft, and not just any round for the pro football talent dispersal, but the first 32 picks.

"We're going to do everything we can to get him to New York," Fisch said. "We're going to do everything we can to get him a first-round pick. To do that, I'm going to commit all of our resources to him and our staff. I know that we're going to surround him with great players everywhere."

For Williams, he just sat there and listened to these heady projections. He looked deep in thought with each Fisch promise that was presented.

Demond Williams Jr. lets loose with one of his 32 passes against Louisville, hitting on 26 for 374 yards and 4 TDs. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yet on New Year's Eve, the quarterback showed that anything is possible for the Huskies and that no opposing lead is safe when he's on the field.

Before entering that interview room, he met briefly with Fisch on the field, after bringing the Huskies back from a 35-21 deficit with a pair of touchdowns inside the final 3:42 minutes of play, thwarted only by an exceptional play in which linebacker Antonio Watts alertly deflected his conversion pass.

"I wanted him to know how proud I was of him," Fisch said, "and how he battled."

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