It was a good weekend to be a Husky fan. New Washington head coach Jedd Fisch landed his first wave of transfer portal players after a weekend of hosting official visits. Four former Arizona Wildcats made their commitments between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Those names include an Elite 11 quarterback in Demond Williams Jr. and a Pac-12 Honorable Mention in running back Jonah Coleman. The transfer portal closed for entry at the beginning of the month. However, entry becomes an option for teams that lose their head coach. Fisch and Washington have already taken advantage of that 30-day window by landing some playmakers from Arizona.
Quarterback of the Future
Williams was an early enrollee at Arizona this winter, entering as a member of the 2024 recruiting class. The four-star quarterback out of high school was an Elite 11 Finalist last summer. The Elite 11 quarterback competition consists of high school recruits nationwide who compete throughout the summer in Elite 11 camps for an invitation to the “Elite 11 Finals.” 20 quarterbacks are invited to the competition finals in Los Angeles, and Williams was among that talented group.
At Basha High School, Williams led his team to a 10-2 season and to the semifinals of Arizona’s Open Division Playoffs. He tossed 34 touchdowns with just three interceptions and 3,250 yards while completing 76.6% of his passes. Williams also rushed for over 1,100 yards and scored 20 rushing touchdowns that year. In his career, Williams was responsible for 93 passing touchdowns and 42 rushing touchdowns for 12,818 all-purpose yards. He’s a smaller quarterback at 5’-11”, but has the downfield passing ability to beat defenses vertically and accurately. Williams is dangerous on his feet but is a pass-first quarterback.
Five Washington quarterbacks entered the transfer portal after Kalen DeBoer’s departure, leaving the room depleted. That includes Will Rogers, who transferred in from Mississippi State in December. It’s still possible he will return. But now the Huskies have a dose of young talent in Williams in this quarterback room to build for the future. He announced his commitment on Sunday morning.
Arizona’s Leading Rusher
Arizona’s leading running back in 2023 is now a Washington Husky. Coleman announced his commitment to Washington on Saturday night via Instagram. He’ll be the premier back on this offense. Last year in Tucson, Coleman tallied 871 yards for five touchdowns on just 128 carries. That averages out to 6.8 yards per touch, which is good for 14th most nationally. Coleman also excelled out of the backfield, catching 25 passes for 283 yards and a score. He averaged 11.3 yards per reception.
Coleman was a true freshman the year prior and finished the season as the Wildcats’ third-leading rusher. He made an immediate impact on that program and will look to do the same on a reconstructed Washington offense next season. The California native was a three-star recruit out of high school. Scottie Graham recruited him to Tucson, and Coleman will be reuniting with him in Seattle, as he is Fisch’s running backs coach. Coleman will have two years of eligibility remaining at Washington.
Fisch and staff landed a second transfer running back on Sunday afternoon. Adam Mohammed was a class of 2024 recruit that Fisch had locked down at Arizona. He’s a Glendale, Arizona native and a class of 2024 recruit, the same as Williams. Mohammed was a three-star recruit out of high school and Graham played a big role in his recruitment to Tucson. In high school, he finished with 113 total touchdowns, just one shy of Bijan Robinson’s record in the state of Arizona. Mohammed rushed for 5,180 yards at Apollo High School with 94 rushing scores. The incoming freshman also played a bit of defense in high school and will be a physical runner for this Husky backfield.
Building the Defense
Jordan Shaw was a class of 2023 recruit at defensive back and began his career at Indiana. He entered the transfer portal at the end of last season and committed to the Wildcats on December 11th. With Fisch and staff moving up to Seattle, Shaw’s decision was easy to follow the staff that recruited him to Arizona. Shaw posted photos of himself in a Husky uniform on Saturday night and announced his commitment to Washington on Sunday morning. Current Washington wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings was involved in his high school recruitment, trying to get him to Arizona. After he left Bloomington, that relationship was key for him in transferring to Arizona. He’ll maintain that relationship on Montlake.
Washington Lands First Wave of Transfer Portal Players
These pieces are just the beginning of Fisch’s reconstruction of the Washington roster. It’s a roster that was left with over 30 transfers from its National Championship game depth chart less than two weeks ago. So far, Washington has secured a quarterback for its future, a potential All-Conference running back with two years of eligibility remaining, and a few other solid young players. It’s just a start, but considering the limitations of the transfer portal currently, it’s a tremendous start. The transfer portal opens back up for entry on April 15th for anyone, regardless of class.
