Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch chats with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. during the second quarter Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
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By
Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
When asked to describe the past few days, Washington football coach Jedd Fisch repeatedly came back to the same explanation.
Fisch spoke publicly Friday afternoon, appearing for around 25 minutes on the Dave “Softy” Mahler and Dick Fain show on KJR 93.3, UW’s flagship radio station. It was the first time Fisch took questions addressing Demond Williams Jr.’s situation since the quarterback’s three-day transfer saga started Tuesday. Fisch added Williams will speak to the media at a later date, though no news conference has been scheduled.
It was a learning experience, the Washington coach said, for all parties involved. For Williams. For Fisch, himself. For the Big Ten and the greater college football world. For fans of a sport that continues to change at a breakneck speed.
Because 2025, Fisch said, was the first season of the new version of college football. The first time college athletic departments were able to share revenue with student-athletes. The first time contract disputes have played out in public, mainly because contracts didn’t exist between athletic departments and student-athletes for the previous 155 years of the sport outside of scholarship agreements.
All with Washington at the sport’s epicenter after Williams’ shocking announcement Tuesday that he planned to transfer, before taking an eventual U-turn Thursday evening.
“I’ve learned a ton over the last 72-96 hours,” Fisch said on the air. “I’ve also learned a ton over the month. And to be honest with you, I’ve learned a ton over the year. And I’m looking forward to sharing and helping our kids grow and be a better football team, have a more trusting relationship with all of us, have an incredible bond as a program and see what type of program we can put out there in August.”
The UW coach, now entering his third season leading the Huskies, admitted he was blindsided by Williams’ announcement, especially considering the quarterback had already signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) license agreement to return for 2026 days earlier on Jan. 2. A source with knowledge of the situation previously confirmed that Williams had signed a one-year, $4 million deal.
Fisch said they’d had “great conversations” after the season about where the program was headed and why UW was the right place for Williams to continue his college football career. The program, he said, moved on with its negotiations with other players under the assumption Williams was fully committed to the future.
The UW coach declined to comment on any suspicions about other programs tampering with Williams once he’d signed, but said he and his staff need to do a better job explaining consequences and the ever-changing rules of modern college football to their players.
Fisch also said he and Williams began discussing how to move forward shortly after the quarterback announced his intentions to depart. The 49-year-old coach said they spent the better part of 48 hours trying to come to a resolution that was best for everyone, which resulted in Williams’ return to UW.
That return only became possible, Fisch said, when Williams declared he wanted to come back to be part of the team and continue to build on the foundation they’d spent the past two years assembling. Reasons that didn’t include potential financial penalties or NIL rights.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Thursday that either Williams or the school that he transferred to would’ve owed Washington the value of his contract ($4 million), and the transferee program would’ve lost money in their revenue-sharing pool because of House v. NCAA settlement guidelines.
“When he told me he wants to come back and he wants to lead this football program and do everything he possibly can to win every game we’re going to compete in,” Fisch said, “I have to believe that. I’ve known Demond for four-and-a-half years.”
Fisch also addressed some of the challenges facing Williams and the Huskies going forward. He said the team was going to have to decide for themselves how they felt about Williams’ actions. He clarified, however, that this wasn’t a long-brewing conflict between Williams and his teammates, and said he expects the team to have numerous discussions to work through this issue and learn from the experience.
“Whatever perception is out there,” Fisch said, “I believe the most important thing is what they believe in the locker room. And I think I’m going to leave it up to the players to really work together to what would be building a championship culture and a championship season.”
Fisch said Williams did not intend to draw attention away from a celebration of life ceremony for Mia Hamant, the former UW soccer player who died of kidney cancer. Additionally, Fisch reached out to Hamant’s parents and UW women’s soccer coach Nicole Van Dyke to apologize on behalf of the program. Kevin Hamant and Van Dyke both confirmed to The Seattle Times they’d been contacted by Fisch and said they appreciated the gesture.
“Jedd has always been unbelievably thoughtful and supportive of our team, especially with Mia,” Van Dyke said. “We spoke at length about what happened, and of course, he was deeply apologetic.”
Fisch also added he’s learned he needs to do a better job as a communicator and educator, teaching his kids that college football in 2026 is vastly different from even 2024. He also said he wants to make it clear that everyone — players and coaches — are committed to the team’s success in 2026.
“I want to make sure these kids all know that I love them,” Fisch said. “That I believe in our team. That what has gone on over the course of a week, or a month, or two months, these kids have been punched in the mouth a few times with a lot of rumors.”
And while Williams reintegrates himself at UW, Fisch said he won’t dictate to his young quarterback what actions he needs to take to earn the trust he’s lost. He said his only expectations for Williams are to continue to grow, mature, learn from this experience and appreciate his opportunities.
“I really hope that over these six months, that our fan base, the media and everyone involved understands that, for a two-day span, we had a player who made a decision to learn about the college landscape in a manner I don’t think he ever felt he’d have to learn,” Fisch said. “And now, we all have learned a ton about college football and I hope we’re all better for what we’ve learned.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes.com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.
