Demond Williams Jr. Looking to Benefit from Mental Reps Due to Injury

After suffering a rib injury in the loss to Iowa last Friday, starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is expected to watch Washington’s matchup against Purdue on Friday night from the sidelines. Despite receiving an abundance of preseason hype from those both inside and outside the program, the junior has seen a regression in production through the first half of the season.

However, Friday night offers the starter a chance to see the game from a new perspective.

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Since being named the starter in the Huskies‘ 2024 regular season finale against Oregon, Williams has started 21 consecutive games for Jedd Fisch’s offense. The former four-star recruit flipped his commitment from Arizona to Washington following his head coach’s decision to move to Seattle, where he has since become the face of the Fisch era on Montlake. Now set to miss his first game since becoming the starter two years ago, the Huskies’ offensive play caller spoke on what his struggling signal caller can learn from this weekend.

“I think there’s certainly always value there to watch,” Fisch said regarding the mental reps Williams will have to take this week. “To see what is happening and what type of interaction occurs, and take a step back and look to see how the game is going, the flow of the game, why the ball was moving or why the ball is going to a certain spot. So yeah, I think there is value to that. I think today, not being able to play today at all, will enable him to watch practice and be able to see it from a different perspective than participating.”

Down several running backs and with constant changes along the offensive line, most of the pressure turned to the second-year starter to generate explosive plays and lead a passing attack that features a plethora of encouraging young talent. Unfortunately, that hasn’t exactly been the case, as the dual-threat quarterback has posted just 8 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and taken 19 sacks through six games.

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Given the series of events that took place over the course of the offseason when he briefly mulled entering the transfer portal, there has been plenty of criticism regarding the play of someone who was touted as a dark-horse Heisman candidate by his own head coach entering the season. With half of the season behind him, the vibe surrounding the Williams-led Washington offense has taken a turn for the worse.

While his status beyond Friday’s matchup is still up in the air, the coming weeks give Williams a chance to hit the reset button. Following Friday’s game, Washington will enter a bye week before entering the home stretch of their season.

Assuming his return to the starting role, a few weeks off could be exactly what the doctor ordered for Williams.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Demond Williams Jr. Looking to Benefit from Mental Reps Due to Injury

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