When Penix Jr was here for two years, I got the distinct feeling that he cared about winning and representing the UW well in equal measure. After the past two years, I’m fairly convinced Williams Jr wants to win, but I don’t think he cares at all about Washington.
I’m not excited at all that DW will take snaps under center for the University of Washington in 2026. He showed that his greed and ego took precedence over team and commitment. He’s only ‘back’ because he faced a possible future 2026 season playing for free, for an SEC team. Sad for all of us who love Husky football that we have to watch this guy be the ‘face’ of UW athletics, its team captain and representative at B1G events in the coming year.
I’m just going to enjoy this beat down Oregon is taking and try not to think about the wringer we’ve all been put through this week.
Fisch has done his best with what he was dealt both personally and to his program, but the egregiousness of the situation is reflected to me in how little his attempts at context do to fix it. Demond really damaged the program and his reentry doesn’t fix a big portion of what he did. He would have gone if he could have and attempts to reframe otherwise just highlight the betrayal.
Correct, and Fisch is stuck here knowing that if offered the Michigan job he would have taken it. I think the element of hypocrisy is included in his thought process on this.
A great lesson would be to compete for the job. Bring in a portal QB and compete. Win the job instead of it being given. I’m as big a fan as most, and I’m disgusted. He’s a good college QB. He’s not a great one. Bring in competition.
I listened to the interview in real time. I think Softy and Dick did a great job asking the questions Dawg fans want answered and followed up when Coach tried to not answer. I also want to commend Coach. I think it was important for him to do this type of inter Irwin and given Softy’s connection to program was an appropriate forum. Fisch was as forthcoming as any coach would be under the circumstances. Fisch teed it up for Demond today and now we wait and see how Demond handles himself over the next few months. At the end of day it comes down to ball. Nothing changes minds like wins.
I listened to that while radio interview and Fisch said basically nothing. The only piece of substance was his unwillingness to tell Demond what to do in terms of earning back the trust of the campus, fan base, and community. That's a start, but frankly, Fisch can't fix this problem. Only Demond can and I'm just not sure the bell he rang can ever be unrung.
Fisch is right, I'm a fan of the institution, which is why I'm disgusted that Demond will be quarterbacking the team next year. I'm not going to unsubscribe to On Montlake because I want to support this work (and again, loyal to the institution) but for the first time since before enrolling as a student years ago I likely won't be watching any games that he is our starter. Just have no interest in rooting for someone who handled this the way he did and seeing him represent our school. Will that change over the next 8 months? Possibly, but I'm going to have a hard time believing anything he has to say based on his actions.
Hi Chris - long time Friend of the Program Subscriber and I’ve never interacted in Zooms but I would like two questions answered / brought up to coaches in some form.
1.) It would seem we have a large focus on recruiting, do we really believe that’s an enduring advantage in this era? Indiana’s rosters focuses on 22+ year old athletes. I was very excited UW’s class came in 12th (or whatever ranking you use) - but these rankings aren’t as simple as the past. There’s opportunity costs. If we’re spending 50% our resources on underclassmen and rivals are paying 35%, that matters. We’re in a new era and understanding the efficient use of resources looms large. This “offseason” bas demonstrated there’s no hometown discount as well… it seems to be portal decisions are purely made via cash received, so what’s the advantage of loading up in the portal if it doesn’t matter the moment playing time comes into a decision? So my question is - what is your take on Washington’s overall strategy in this era? Everyone plays coy on this, j would just like an A-F ranking from what you observe. Thank you.
2.) second, I would like to ask you opinion on what UW needs to do structurally. Fisch has mentioned getting revenues to $25M. It seems to me UW made a bad miscalculation at the start of the current era. That is to say, we believed rev sharing and NIL through corporate deals (Dawgs Unleashed) was enough. That can maybe get you to $25M, but Texas Tech, Oregon, Texas (etc) seem to be at much higher levels. Now Indiana has Cuban reloading them. This difference seems to be the key differentiator, and UW currently lacks a collective. Can you do your best reporting to describe why this difference is and how we close the gap? I realize this is different than in the past with spring scrimmages, etc… but it’s the single idea that now determines how competitive a team is so I would love more details (as you can ascertain) and analysis. I appreciate all the work you do, go Dawgs.
I appreciate him saying there's nothing Demond *has* to do, and forcing him to do any sort of public apology/long form interview/donation would just be checking boxes to placate people. Certainly he should do something, but if he's really going to be the leader of the team it should come from him, and not radio hosts or twitter talking heads.
The fact of the matter is that we have a lot of information but we don’t know and probably never will know the honest to god truth about what transpired. He’s 19, yes he’s the face of UW football and the player leader of the team but he’s NINETEEN and being fawned over by greedy football institutions with gobs of money who are promising him the world.
In all likelihood he’s not a high caliber NFL QB and knows that and right now is when he can capitalize on life changing money for him and his family. Yes we may say well $4.5M vs $6M, but whoop, but someone up above said it right, most of us are never ever sniffing that kind of pay day.
Did he do it the right way? God no. Was his timing bad? Almost impossibly the worst you can imagine. Does he have greedy college coaches, family members, friends, etc pulling at him from all angles? Almost 100% yes.
This is a completely different CFB landscape vs what we grew up with and it’s changed incredibly fast.
Did he do the wrong thing, yep no denying that.
Do we know the substance of his conversations w Jedd? Nope and never will.
Do we know for a fact how/when this all happened? We can guess but thats all it is, a guess.
We all invest our time, energy and money into this which is why it’s difficult to process. It’s emotional, I get it.
He’s 19, made some bad choices, but otherwise has showed up for every practice and played hard in every game.
Feel how you want to feel but Im choosing to support UW football success and a lot of that is on the QB so I’m rooting for him too, mostly to become a better man, friend, and teammate.
I choose to believe you can both royally screw up and make right on your wrongs.
Lotta high and mighty in the comments for people who have never sniffed that much money. I loved UW but I might have left for a couple million dollars. You value loyalty, alright I guess we should never take any transfers in then. Go Dawgs
I don’t believe for a second that people are this upset because of the sanctity of contracts and not just because deep down they are mad a guy they liked tried to leave their favorite team
No Brian. If DW had entered portal without signing contract w/ UW (like Adam did), we’d all be disappointed but we’d roll with it. We might also still pine for unionization of college football athletes and Collective Bargaining, as most fans across all CFB want (but we’re not getting). It’s not lost on me that DW left Arizona prior to UW. So did Fisch. So did Pat Chun from WSU. All these moves were without breaking a signed contract with institution they were departing. But, you don’t sign commitment and then say ‘nope, I’d like to back out for more $’. Then, send that note while the rest of your team is mourning the untimely death of a fellow, prominent UW athlete, and you the leaver are not in attendance. This all shows gross lack of character, greed and an unchecked ego that I as a fan want nothing to do with. What if he did leave and then so did a trail of other recruits? And to now take him back and slap a ‘Captain’ insignia on him - is slap in face to fans of the University. DW is a d-bag. I forgive him of course. Everyone should be given a 2nd chance. But his 2nd chance doesn’t need to be with the University of Washington.
Nah I get it. A bunch of adults calling a 19yo a d-bag because he tried to make more money. Surely if all of you were in the same position you would have said no and actually requested less money from UW because you just want to be here for the love of the game. Grow up
If I were in the same position, I’d be feeling pretty grateful about signing a top 10 deal for $4.7M to continue playing with my teammates. I’d be with them and supporting them at Mia’s celebration of life. I’d realize that a signed contract is a commitment for both parties to move forward on the same team. I’d realize that if I’m willing to make a drastic decision without my agent’s help, then I probably need a different agent. I was not this dumb or narcissistic when I was 19…full stop. Maybe you were, which is why you think he should get a free pass. Regardless, the only way folks who think like this seem to learn is through consequences. I can guarantee that this will follow Demond for every significant future contract he signs. I’d be real wary of doing any business with him, that’s for sure. I don’t suffer fools gladly. I guess you do.
I know they had contracts in previous stops. And there are buy out’s when they move, that incoming University pay. Now, apply that to Demond’s situation. He signed a contract and then stated he wanted out. So, my take is let him go and let’s litigate this and create new case law for CFB NIL. It’s very much needed. Maybe DW can go play for LSU and LSU can pay UW for the buy out.
Ok except then you called him a dbag lmao. He fucked up! Or maybe someone around him fucked up. Or maybe the other school thought it would work and then backed out when they realized what exactly his contract said. I don’t know. But everyone is being so dramatic about it. I’m sorry he hurt your feelings because he isn’t as “loyal” to your favorite school as you want him to be but let’s relax a little bit
It seems a little silly to assume him originally announcing he was staying and even signing a contact solidifying that decision had no impact on the overall degree of anger towards Williams
I get being a little upset about the whole thing, it was a crazy and emotional rollercoaster of a week no doubt, but the vitriol that people seem to have towards him is wild to me. We get to keep the good qb! Who other really good teams wanted! I just want everyone to have a little perspective on what we’re talking about here.
If Demond wants to be forgiven, he has to say he's sorry. Anything less and Husky nation will never be behind him! It's like a wife who admitted she F'd an old whore ( Lane Kiffin ) and said it was only sex.
Was about what I expected on the interview. Softy and Dick asked the questions they had to and wanted to and Fisch answered what he could. really not a lot that he could say especially with tampering and what he discussed with Demond. Everyone knows it was tampering but legally he cant say as much.
He’s a teenager and he made a big mistake. A very public one at that. He was involved in a very complex process that was likely moving fast and he was in way over his head. We don’t know all of the details. I do know that Fisch, who does know the details, has welcomed him back. So has the AD. No amount of Social Media vitriol is going to "hold him accountable". We don’t know him and are never going to talk to him. The critics weren’t harmed directly. The only thing that piling on (anonymously mind you) to a teenager’s big public mistake is it satisfies the emotional needs of the critic. It’s cathartic, free therapy. It serves no other practical purpose. Folks on this board would be wise to take a cue from Fisch. Or perhaps invest in a little therapy for support on perspective and bigger priorities in life to channel one’s rage towards as there is certainly no shortage of options these days in the United States.
All good comments. I’m struck by the notion of how this drama has been magnified by the existence of 24/7 media coverage and social media reaction. If you believe family problems should be solved internally, and Husky Football is a family, then what just transpired was appropriate…….and the outside noise and commentary was meaningless.
Now let’s see how Demond handles things going forward and hope for a positive outcome.
When Penix Jr was here for two years, I got the distinct feeling that he cared about winning and representing the UW well in equal measure. After the past two years, I’m fairly convinced Williams Jr wants to win, but I don’t think he cares at all about Washington.
I’m not excited at all that DW will take snaps under center for the University of Washington in 2026. He showed that his greed and ego took precedence over team and commitment. He’s only ‘back’ because he faced a possible future 2026 season playing for free, for an SEC team. Sad for all of us who love Husky football that we have to watch this guy be the ‘face’ of UW athletics, its team captain and representative at B1G events in the coming year.
I’m just going to enjoy this beat down Oregon is taking and try not to think about the wringer we’ve all been put through this week.
Fisch has done his best with what he was dealt both personally and to his program, but the egregiousness of the situation is reflected to me in how little his attempts at context do to fix it. Demond really damaged the program and his reentry doesn’t fix a big portion of what he did. He would have gone if he could have and attempts to reframe otherwise just highlight the betrayal.
Correct, and Fisch is stuck here knowing that if offered the Michigan job he would have taken it. I think the element of hypocrisy is included in his thought process on this.
A great lesson would be to compete for the job. Bring in a portal QB and compete. Win the job instead of it being given. I’m as big a fan as most, and I’m disgusted. He’s a good college QB. He’s not a great one. Bring in competition.
I listened to the interview in real time. I think Softy and Dick did a great job asking the questions Dawg fans want answered and followed up when Coach tried to not answer. I also want to commend Coach. I think it was important for him to do this type of inter Irwin and given Softy’s connection to program was an appropriate forum. Fisch was as forthcoming as any coach would be under the circumstances. Fisch teed it up for Demond today and now we wait and see how Demond handles himself over the next few months. At the end of day it comes down to ball. Nothing changes minds like wins.
I listened to that while radio interview and Fisch said basically nothing. The only piece of substance was his unwillingness to tell Demond what to do in terms of earning back the trust of the campus, fan base, and community. That's a start, but frankly, Fisch can't fix this problem. Only Demond can and I'm just not sure the bell he rang can ever be unrung.
Fisch is right, I'm a fan of the institution, which is why I'm disgusted that Demond will be quarterbacking the team next year. I'm not going to unsubscribe to On Montlake because I want to support this work (and again, loyal to the institution) but for the first time since before enrolling as a student years ago I likely won't be watching any games that he is our starter. Just have no interest in rooting for someone who handled this the way he did and seeing him represent our school. Will that change over the next 8 months? Possibly, but I'm going to have a hard time believing anything he has to say based on his actions.
Hi Chris - long time Friend of the Program Subscriber and I’ve never interacted in Zooms but I would like two questions answered / brought up to coaches in some form.
1.) It would seem we have a large focus on recruiting, do we really believe that’s an enduring advantage in this era? Indiana’s rosters focuses on 22+ year old athletes. I was very excited UW’s class came in 12th (or whatever ranking you use) - but these rankings aren’t as simple as the past. There’s opportunity costs. If we’re spending 50% our resources on underclassmen and rivals are paying 35%, that matters. We’re in a new era and understanding the efficient use of resources looms large. This “offseason” bas demonstrated there’s no hometown discount as well… it seems to be portal decisions are purely made via cash received, so what’s the advantage of loading up in the portal if it doesn’t matter the moment playing time comes into a decision? So my question is - what is your take on Washington’s overall strategy in this era? Everyone plays coy on this, j would just like an A-F ranking from what you observe. Thank you.
2.) second, I would like to ask you opinion on what UW needs to do structurally. Fisch has mentioned getting revenues to $25M. It seems to me UW made a bad miscalculation at the start of the current era. That is to say, we believed rev sharing and NIL through corporate deals (Dawgs Unleashed) was enough. That can maybe get you to $25M, but Texas Tech, Oregon, Texas (etc) seem to be at much higher levels. Now Indiana has Cuban reloading them. This difference seems to be the key differentiator, and UW currently lacks a collective. Can you do your best reporting to describe why this difference is and how we close the gap? I realize this is different than in the past with spring scrimmages, etc… but it’s the single idea that now determines how competitive a team is so I would love more details (as you can ascertain) and analysis. I appreciate all the work you do, go Dawgs.
I appreciate him saying there's nothing Demond *has* to do, and forcing him to do any sort of public apology/long form interview/donation would just be checking boxes to placate people. Certainly he should do something, but if he's really going to be the leader of the team it should come from him, and not radio hosts or twitter talking heads.
The fact of the matter is that we have a lot of information but we don’t know and probably never will know the honest to god truth about what transpired. He’s 19, yes he’s the face of UW football and the player leader of the team but he’s NINETEEN and being fawned over by greedy football institutions with gobs of money who are promising him the world.
In all likelihood he’s not a high caliber NFL QB and knows that and right now is when he can capitalize on life changing money for him and his family. Yes we may say well $4.5M vs $6M, but whoop, but someone up above said it right, most of us are never ever sniffing that kind of pay day.
Did he do it the right way? God no. Was his timing bad? Almost impossibly the worst you can imagine. Does he have greedy college coaches, family members, friends, etc pulling at him from all angles? Almost 100% yes.
This is a completely different CFB landscape vs what we grew up with and it’s changed incredibly fast.
Did he do the wrong thing, yep no denying that.
Do we know the substance of his conversations w Jedd? Nope and never will.
Do we know for a fact how/when this all happened? We can guess but thats all it is, a guess.
We all invest our time, energy and money into this which is why it’s difficult to process. It’s emotional, I get it.
He’s 19, made some bad choices, but otherwise has showed up for every practice and played hard in every game.
Feel how you want to feel but Im choosing to support UW football success and a lot of that is on the QB so I’m rooting for him too, mostly to become a better man, friend, and teammate.
I choose to believe you can both royally screw up and make right on your wrongs.
It’s up to DW now
You're working hard Christian. Thanks
Lotta high and mighty in the comments for people who have never sniffed that much money. I loved UW but I might have left for a couple million dollars. You value loyalty, alright I guess we should never take any transfers in then. Go Dawgs
Remind me to never trust you to uphold your end of a signed contract
I don’t believe for a second that people are this upset because of the sanctity of contracts and not just because deep down they are mad a guy they liked tried to leave their favorite team
No Brian. If DW had entered portal without signing contract w/ UW (like Adam did), we’d all be disappointed but we’d roll with it. We might also still pine for unionization of college football athletes and Collective Bargaining, as most fans across all CFB want (but we’re not getting). It’s not lost on me that DW left Arizona prior to UW. So did Fisch. So did Pat Chun from WSU. All these moves were without breaking a signed contract with institution they were departing. But, you don’t sign commitment and then say ‘nope, I’d like to back out for more $’. Then, send that note while the rest of your team is mourning the untimely death of a fellow, prominent UW athlete, and you the leaver are not in attendance. This all shows gross lack of character, greed and an unchecked ego that I as a fan want nothing to do with. What if he did leave and then so did a trail of other recruits? And to now take him back and slap a ‘Captain’ insignia on him - is slap in face to fans of the University. DW is a d-bag. I forgive him of course. Everyone should be given a 2nd chance. But his 2nd chance doesn’t need to be with the University of Washington.
☝️this 100%. Brian - you don’t get it.
Nah I get it. A bunch of adults calling a 19yo a d-bag because he tried to make more money. Surely if all of you were in the same position you would have said no and actually requested less money from UW because you just want to be here for the love of the game. Grow up
If I were in the same position, I’d be feeling pretty grateful about signing a top 10 deal for $4.7M to continue playing with my teammates. I’d be with them and supporting them at Mia’s celebration of life. I’d realize that a signed contract is a commitment for both parties to move forward on the same team. I’d realize that if I’m willing to make a drastic decision without my agent’s help, then I probably need a different agent. I was not this dumb or narcissistic when I was 19…full stop. Maybe you were, which is why you think he should get a free pass. Regardless, the only way folks who think like this seem to learn is through consequences. I can guarantee that this will follow Demond for every significant future contract he signs. I’d be real wary of doing any business with him, that’s for sure. I don’t suffer fools gladly. I guess you do.
Sorry but you think that Fisch and Chun didn’t have contracts at their previous stops?
I know they had contracts in previous stops. And there are buy out’s when they move, that incoming University pay. Now, apply that to Demond’s situation. He signed a contract and then stated he wanted out. So, my take is let him go and let’s litigate this and create new case law for CFB NIL. It’s very much needed. Maybe DW can go play for LSU and LSU can pay UW for the buy out.
Ok except then you called him a dbag lmao. He fucked up! Or maybe someone around him fucked up. Or maybe the other school thought it would work and then backed out when they realized what exactly his contract said. I don’t know. But everyone is being so dramatic about it. I’m sorry he hurt your feelings because he isn’t as “loyal” to your favorite school as you want him to be but let’s relax a little bit
It seems a little silly to assume him originally announcing he was staying and even signing a contact solidifying that decision had no impact on the overall degree of anger towards Williams
I get being a little upset about the whole thing, it was a crazy and emotional rollercoaster of a week no doubt, but the vitriol that people seem to have towards him is wild to me. We get to keep the good qb! Who other really good teams wanted! I just want everyone to have a little perspective on what we’re talking about here.
If Demond wants to be forgiven, he has to say he's sorry. Anything less and Husky nation will never be behind him! It's like a wife who admitted she F'd an old whore ( Lane Kiffin ) and said it was only sex.
Was about what I expected on the interview. Softy and Dick asked the questions they had to and wanted to and Fisch answered what he could. really not a lot that he could say especially with tampering and what he discussed with Demond. Everyone knows it was tampering but legally he cant say as much.
He’s a teenager and he made a big mistake. A very public one at that. He was involved in a very complex process that was likely moving fast and he was in way over his head. We don’t know all of the details. I do know that Fisch, who does know the details, has welcomed him back. So has the AD. No amount of Social Media vitriol is going to "hold him accountable". We don’t know him and are never going to talk to him. The critics weren’t harmed directly. The only thing that piling on (anonymously mind you) to a teenager’s big public mistake is it satisfies the emotional needs of the critic. It’s cathartic, free therapy. It serves no other practical purpose. Folks on this board would be wise to take a cue from Fisch. Or perhaps invest in a little therapy for support on perspective and bigger priorities in life to channel one’s rage towards as there is certainly no shortage of options these days in the United States.
All good comments. I’m struck by the notion of how this drama has been magnified by the existence of 24/7 media coverage and social media reaction. If you believe family problems should be solved internally, and Husky Football is a family, then what just transpired was appropriate…….and the outside noise and commentary was meaningless.
Now let’s see how Demond handles things going forward and hope for a positive outcome.
Hopefully players learned there’s limits. You can’t listen to scum bags and do anything you want.