Washington quarterback Demond Williams led the offense on a touchdown drive to open up the UW’s second spring scrimmage of April. It was a smooth start for the offense as the team ran 130 plays on Saturday afternoon inside Husky Stadium. On the other side of the ball, the defense pulled down three interceptions and broke up six passes.
Notes from UW Scrimmage
Opening Drive Touchdown
The first team offense went up against the first team defense to open up the scrimmage session, and it was Williams and the offense that won the first battle. The rising junior quarterback connected on four passes to move down the field efficiently, finding four different receivers along the way. First, it was tight end Decker DeGraaf for a 13-yard completion.
Then, Justice Williams had a nine-yard reception over the middle. He has taken consistent snaps with the first team offense throughout the last week or so of practice. That jump on the depth chart has been earned. He’s made multiple contested catches at the receiver position over the last handful of practices. A play later, Williams connected with Dezmen Roebuck for 45 yards down the near sideline. The true sophomore receiver pulled in the hands catch at full speed as he fell to the turf with a step on the defender.
Once in the red zone, it was another Williams-to-Williams connection. This time, it was Rashid Williams who pulled down a back shoulder pass for a touchdown on a well-placed throw in the corner of the end zone. Unofficially, Williams tallied about 84 passing yards on the first drive, getting multiple receivers involved.
“I’m having the time of my life coaching this kid,” quarterbacks coach JP Losman said of Williams after the scrimmage on Saturday. “Super respectful, super responsive, super reliable. I mean, texting, calling, coming to the meetings, leading the team, anything I’ve ever asked of him, that’s what he’s doing. And so we’ve been able to build this trust,” Losman continued. “And he’s starting to see all the benefits of being in the same system in year three.” Williams unofficially threw for over 200 yards in the scrimmage, completing 22 passes.
Three Interceptions
But the defense fought back throughout the scrimmage, and it ended up with three interceptions on the day. The first was a tremendous play in the corner of the end zone by cornerback Kayden Greene. In coverage against Justice Williams and the first team offense, Greene elevated to the 50/50 pass thrown by Demond Williams. Both Greene and the receiver got their hands on the football, but Greene ripped it away for the interception as the two fell to the turf. Greene also had a tackle for loss on the day and four total tackles, unofficially.
Later on, true freshman and former four-star safety Gavin Day had a pick on an overthrown pass by Elijah Brown. He was playing in the middle of the defense at the post safety position. Day tracked the eyes of the quarterback and got in position to make the play. The true freshman took it the other way for about 25 yards into plus territory.
Another true freshman, Elijah Durr, had the third interception of the day on one of the final drives of practice. It was also off the arm of Elijah Brown, and Durr’s play on the football was impressive. The true freshman and former Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Washington made an athletic play for the ball and got his toes down on the sideline as he secured possession.
Other Defensive Notes
“I thought the defense played really hard today, made a lot of big plays,” Jedd Fisch said after the UW scrimmage. This is a group that’s been challenging the offense in several different ways throughout the spring with its multiplicity of looks and personnel.
“[Ryan Walters] is able to do more and more things, giving the offense more challenges,” Fisch described after the scrimmage. “Because he’s capable of playing with three safeties, then he’s capable of playing with two safeties. Three linebackers, two corners, more base defense. Then he’s capable of jumping into multiple fronts and multiple pressures.”
The defense broke up six passes on Saturday afternoon. In the secondary, it was Durr with a hand on one, in addition to his interception. Ramonz Adams, Elias Johnson, and Jeron Jones had the others on the back end. Up front, Ball State transfer Darin Conley broke up a pass at the line, and freshman Ezaya Tokio also got his hands on a pass.
In addition to the pass breakups, linebacker Xe’ree Alexander stood out with two sacks and two tackles for loss on the day, unofficially. Jacob Manu is playing at full health and continues to play at his 2023 level when he was a first team All-Pac 12 defender at Arizona. He unofficially tallied a sack, a tackle for loss, a stop, a quarterback hurry, and seven total tackles on the day. Manu plays with a high energy and just always seems to be around the ball no matter where it is on the field.
Main Image: Nick Lemkau
