If He Starts, Williams Will Join Elite Husky Football Fraternity

A freshman starting quarterback for the UW is a rarity.

Freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. waits for his teammates to line up at Penn State. / Skylar Lin Visuals

While it's still up to his coach to reveal whether he's in or out on the first offensive series, Demond Williams Jr. is trying to join one of the hardest fraternities to get into at the University of Washington -- that of a true freshman who becomes the Husky starting quarterback.

Since freshmen were first permitted to play NCAA varsity football in 1972, just four players have come to Montlake and been handed the reins to the Husky offense with a game-opening assignment in their debut college season.

This fortuitous and fearless group: Marques Tuiasosopo in 1997, Carl Bonnell in 2004, Jake Browning in 2015 and Sam Huard in 2021.

After appearing in the UW's first 11 outings as the back-up to senior Will Rogers, the speedy and elusive Williams is poised to open a game for the first time under the most demanding if not truly impossible circumstances, facing the unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks, the Huskies' most hated rival, on the road in Eugene.

Some might consider this a form of punishment, if Williams is indeed promoted, rather than a reward. He'll need to celebrate the promotion as long as he can because it might not be a pleasant experience in the end, considering the Huskies are 19.5-point underdogs.

However, UW coach Jedd Fisch thinks Williams is a playmaker who will embrace stepping into the lead role, if not now certainly in 2025.

"Demond’s gonna be special," Fisch said in October. "Demond will be the face of Washington football moving forward next year."

Whatever anyone does with Williams leading up to the rivalry game, just don't tell him how those other freshmen did as UW starting quarterbacks.

All four lost.

It's probably OK to tell Williams how their careers evolved. Some did really well.

Demond Williams Jr. got loose for a 43-yard run at Penn State. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Browning became a 53-game starter, opening every contest but one in his four-year UW career; led the Huskies into the 2016 CFP semifinals, and currently is in his sixth season as an NFL quarterback.

Tuiasosopo became a 27-game starter, a Rose Bowl MVP and an NFL quarterback, and he now serves as the Rice offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach albeit for a 3-8 American Athletic Conference team.

Bonnell opened 8 games during his four-year career, initially sharing the No. 1 job with Casey Paus and Isaiah Stanback as a freshman and later backing up Jake Locker as a senior. For those wondering, Locker didn't start as a Husky quarterback until he was a redshirt freshman in 2007, becoming one of eight signal-callers who have gone that route in Montlake.

Huard?

He opened only the 2021 Apple Cup against Washington State, with the program in shambles and the coaching staff on the way out, and suffered through a 40-13 loss, played in just five games in two seasons, and since has transferred to Cal Poly and Utah, and is currently recovering from an injury for the latter school.

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Husky quarterbacks Demond Williams Jr. and Will Rogers slap hands as the freshman comes off the field. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Tuiasosopo coincidentally started his first game as a freshman against Oregon. In 1997, in the ninth outing of his debut campaign, he took over for an injured Brock Huard and led 7-1 UW up against 4-4 Oregon at Husky Stadium -- his team lost 31-28. Tuiasosopo and his teammates fell behind 24-6 by halftime, with the young quarterback doing everything he could to make it a competitive game. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown, with an interception. It was Tuiasosopo's only start of the season.

Seven years later, Bonnell was next up as a true freshman QB starter for the Huskies, replacing a struggling Paus in the fourth game of the 2004 season. He took the winless Huskies up against the 2-1 Stanford Cardinal and lost 27-13. He completed 9 of 25 passes for 118 yards, threw an interception and was replaced by Paus in the second half. Bonnell drew a second start in the next game, too, and helped the UW beat San Jose State 21-6 for its only win in a 1-10 season, and then resumed a reserve role for the rest of the schedule.

In 2015, Browning showed up and immediately won the starting quarterback job as a Husky freshman. He opened the season and his rookie year on the road against Boise State, which took a 16-0 lead by halftime and held on for a 16-13 victory. Browning completed 20 of 34 passes for 150 yards and threw an interception. He was 7-5 that season as the No. 1 QB, sitting out one game with an injury. He ended up 39-14 as the UW starter for his four-year career.

Huard came to the UW as a 5-star recruit and a legacy player, both as the the son and nephew for former Husky quarterbacks Damon and Brock Huard, respectively. Each of the older Huards redshirted before launching their college careers. Not Sam. After three relief appearances, Huard drew the start against WSU in a lost 2021 season, threw four interceptions and played in only one other game the following year before transferring.

If Fisch makes the move to Williams, as some people think he will, the Husky coach will put the ball in the hands of the freshman and ask him to do the impossible. It could be fun if the kid can get out and run wild. It could be messy, too, with Oregon fielding one of the strongest teams in its history.

It's all up to this Husky coach on whether or not he rolls the dice at the outset in Eugene with his promising first-year player or not. For Williams, a fraternity awaits.

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