Mark Schafer is on vacation this week so I am covering the Three Things post. Let me take a moment to give Mark some credit. He has taken on extra posts and a lot of behind-the-scenes organization this season. It has been a huge help to me and the blog overall. Mark is the man. Thanks Mark!
With that, let’s get to what we learned from UW’s 38-19 retribution win over Rutgers.
Run, Demond, Run
We were all excited about the possibilities of a full season of Demond Williams Jr. at QB. He flashed such precocious ability as a passer in his 2024 cameo that it seemed like the sky was the limit. Somehow, his passing stats this year have been even more efficient and explosive than his outstanding performance as a freshman. Through six games, his Y/A are up from an outstanding 9.0 to an eye-popping 10.3. His adjusted Y/A are even better (11.3, up from 10.1). His 8/1 TD/INT ratio last year was great, but 10/1 this year on 53 more attempts is even better. His pure completion percentage is down slightly, from 78% to 74%, but that number is still exceptional.
If there’s one minor complaint I have seen about Williams this year, it has had to do with when and how often he runs- or doesn’t. One of the reasons Williams’ passing acumen is so impressive is that he might be even more talented as a runner- fast, shifty, and slippery at the same time. When the offense has not been at its best (the Ohio State game, the first half against Maryland), it has sometimes looked like Williams has been hesitant to run, either by play design or by his own internal clock telling him to stay in the pocket a bit longer. The 12 combined sacks he took over the previous three games reinforce that concern.
It feels a bit strange to talk about a QB’s running ability in a game where he passed for a career-best 402 yards, but he also happened to excel with his legs, and it answered a lot of the questions fans may have had about the internal clock. Coming into the Rutgers game, Williams had 246 yards on 61 carries for a rather pedestrian 4.03 y/c. Since he has been prone to taking lots of sacks, the lost yardage can skew the totals. His non-sack rushing stats look much better- 350 yards on 46 carries (7.6 y/c). Still, with more designed runs and big plays against Rutgers, he blew those numbers out of the water. He totaled 143 yards on 12 carries (excluding his one sack for -7 yards), good for 11.9 y/c. Both numbers top his previous season high (11 carries against Maryland, 111 yards and 11.1 y/c against WSU). His two TDs helped put the game away. There is definitely a downside to the QB runs- Williams fumbled on the doorstep of the endzone and took some scary hits. Above all, the dual-threat of Williams completing 78% of his passes and running for 11.9 yards every time he decided to take off left the Rutgers defense reeling and was probably the biggest reason UW was able to pull away for a comfortable win.
Bucking the Trend
Another ongoing debate this season has been about UW’s #2 receiver position. Denzel Boston was and is entrenched as the #1 receiver. Through the summer and fall practices, it was widely assumed that Omari Evans had the inside track on the opposite side. Evans was a borderline 4* recruit when he committed to Penn St coming out of high school in Texas. Even in a run-first offense, he started to show real promise as a deep threat for the Nittany Lions in ’24 with 415 yards and 5 TDs on 21 catches. He looked like a very good complement to Boston when he transferred to UW going into his senior year.
But, much like the Spanish Inquisition, nobody expected Dezmen Roebuck. The unheralded, undersized, under-recruited freshman from Arizona has done nothing but over-achieve. Evans missed the first two games of the season, but since he has returned, he has totaled between 13-19 snaps per game. Over the same stretch, Roebuck has played at least 36 snaps in each game and his production has been rock-solid. On the season, he has caught 18 of the 23 balls thrown to him for 331 yards and 2 TDs. He has only been credited with a single drop. As the season has progressed, he has gradually earned more trust down field. His average depth of target was under nine over the first three weeks, but has been 11.0, 26.2, and 12.8 the last three games. Despite his relatively small size (5’11”, 175 lbs.), he has also held up well in blocking situations, with PFF grades over 60 for run blocking in five of his six games. Although Evans outweighs Roebuck by 15 pounds, Roebuck has been trusted to stay in to run block on 117 snaps this year. At this point, there is really no argument against him as the team’s true #2 receiver.
Isn’t That Special
The ’24 Huskies were in a difficult position as Jedd Fisch tried to build a roster on the fly after the late departure of Kalen DeBoer. Despite the challenges in the first year in the Big 10, the Dawgs had plenty of bright spots. On the other hand, the least bright spot was the play of the special teams units. It was so poor that Fisch decided to hire a dedicated Special Teams Coordiator in Chris Petrilli. The Huskies also brought in a new punter and a new kicker with a bigger leg to handle at least some of the kickoffs.
So far, the ’25 version of the Huskies has been obviously improved. The 5-1 record is the clearest indication, but the underlying stats agree. Bill Connelly’s SP+ has Washington as the #21 team in the country with the 17th best offense and a surprisingly solid 26th ranked defense. How has the Special Teams overhaul gone? Uhh… 102nd. That’s not good.
Friday was another reminder that the special teams unit has a long way to go. Grady Gross, who has largely vindicated himself after last year’s horrible swoon, missed a 39 yarder early that gave everyone terrifying flashbacks. Luke Dunne’s first punt of the game was a comedy of errors. He tried to punt from his own eight and Rutgers took a fair catch at the UW 43. An illegal formation penalty gave Rutgers the option to force UW to try again and they accepted the penalty to negate a 35-yard punt. From his own four, Dunne indeed gave Rutgers better field position with a kick that went out of bounds at the 32. Luckily, the defense forced a missed FG and the Dawgs were not punished for the sloppiness. Dunne’s punting grade for the season has been 59.8. For context, Jack McCallister was 73.5 last year in a performance that was clearly not good enough. On the plus side, Ethan Moczulski has recorded touchbacks on 26 of his 35 kickoffs this year, so we can at least find one silver lining.