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Demond Williams Jr. nearly became one of the biggest storylines of the college football offseason.
The promising young Washington quarterback agreed to a new deal to stick around in Seattle in 2026, but after agreeing to it, he briefly entered the transfer portal. Allegations of tampering swirled, as did rumors connecting Williams to schools like LSU and Miami, which needed a transfer portal quarterback at the time.
Williams ultimately backed down as Washington and the Big Ten were poised to challenge the legality of him exiting his deal, and he returned to the Huskies. As we approach the season, it seems both parties are putting the saga behind them.
During a recent appearance on the Triple Option Podcast, coach Jedd Fisch explained exactly what went down with Williams' brief flirtation with the transfer portal.
"We all came back for our first team meeting, and then when the team meeting ended, he called me and said, 'Coach, I think I need to go into the portal,'" Fisch said. "And I was like, 'What are you talking about, man?' What happened was: a program told him that they'd pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal. The kid's 19 years old and we're paying him a lot, but if you add another $2 million onto anything...he was forced to put something out there.
"We spent about 24-36 hours going back and forth and talking about, 'This is the right place for you, and you have a contract, and contracts mean something.' In the end, he came back two days later. We didn't change anything; we didn't give him any more money or anything like that, but what we did do is we talked about what a great opportunity it is to be a three-year player in the same program, and we have a chance to do something super special."
Fisch is alleging tampering on behalf of another program, though he doesn't name the program that allegedly offered Williams a $2 million raise to enter the portal. He went on to explain that Williams has been embraced by his team since his return and compared the situation to how personnel decisions are made in the NFL.
"What I told our team is this is like the NFL, every now and then, a guy says, 'Hey, I want a trade,' and then you say, 'I'm not going to trade you,' and they come back, and they love you," he said. "Sometimes you have to franchise (tag) a guy, sometimes you have to put a certain tender on a guy, and then you just keep it moving. Demond has come back and has led our team, he got the most amount of votes at the leadership council...I think he feels really good about his decision to return. He got caught up a little bit in some adults trying to give him some advice differently than what he should be following."
Williams showed promise in his first full season as the starter this fall, and there's reason for optimism in Seattle. While the circumstances of the offseason weren't exactly ideal, Fisch insists that the team has moved on.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Jedd Fisch explains why Demond Williams Jr. entered transfer portal
Continue reading...
The promising young Washington quarterback agreed to a new deal to stick around in Seattle in 2026, but after agreeing to it, he briefly entered the transfer portal. Allegations of tampering swirled, as did rumors connecting Williams to schools like LSU and Miami, which needed a transfer portal quarterback at the time.
Williams ultimately backed down as Washington and the Big Ten were poised to challenge the legality of him exiting his deal, and he returned to the Huskies. As we approach the season, it seems both parties are putting the saga behind them.
During a recent appearance on the Triple Option Podcast, coach Jedd Fisch explained exactly what went down with Williams' brief flirtation with the transfer portal.
"We all came back for our first team meeting, and then when the team meeting ended, he called me and said, 'Coach, I think I need to go into the portal,'" Fisch said. "And I was like, 'What are you talking about, man?' What happened was: a program told him that they'd pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal. The kid's 19 years old and we're paying him a lot, but if you add another $2 million onto anything...he was forced to put something out there.
"We spent about 24-36 hours going back and forth and talking about, 'This is the right place for you, and you have a contract, and contracts mean something.' In the end, he came back two days later. We didn't change anything; we didn't give him any more money or anything like that, but what we did do is we talked about what a great opportunity it is to be a three-year player in the same program, and we have a chance to do something super special."
Fisch is alleging tampering on behalf of another program, though he doesn't name the program that allegedly offered Williams a $2 million raise to enter the portal. He went on to explain that Williams has been embraced by his team since his return and compared the situation to how personnel decisions are made in the NFL.
"What I told our team is this is like the NFL, every now and then, a guy says, 'Hey, I want a trade,' and then you say, 'I'm not going to trade you,' and they come back, and they love you," he said. "Sometimes you have to franchise (tag) a guy, sometimes you have to put a certain tender on a guy, and then you just keep it moving. Demond has come back and has led our team, he got the most amount of votes at the leadership council...I think he feels really good about his decision to return. He got caught up a little bit in some adults trying to give him some advice differently than what he should be following."
Williams showed promise in his first full season as the starter this fall, and there's reason for optimism in Seattle. While the circumstances of the offseason weren't exactly ideal, Fisch insists that the team has moved on.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Jedd Fisch explains why Demond Williams Jr. entered transfer portal
Continue reading...
