3-Way Husky Quarterback Competition Is As Good As It Gets

Seven, two, nine.

Lottery numbers? Code to enter Husky Stadium? Combination to a safe?

No, those three digits have given a University of Washington football team stripped of much of its College Football Playoff manpower some new hope for the present as well as the future.

In that order, seven, two and nine are Will Rogers, Demond Williams Jr. and Dermaricus Davis, maybe the greatest collection of Husky quarterback talent since its 1991 national championship run.

Back then it was Billy Joe Hobert, Mark Brunell, Damon Huard and Eric Bjornson. Two Rose Bowl Most Valuable Players. All four bound for the NFL, though Bjornson became a pro football tight end.

While the current Huskies were stripped bare of experienced offensive linemen and are scrambling to find new ones in the transfer portal, they at least have a fighting chance this coming season with Rogers taking over for Michael Penix Jr. as the starting quarterback and Williams and Davis as freshmen backing him and preparing for a gargantuan quarterback competition as early as 2025.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Rogers comes to Montlake with 40 starts and 12,315 passing yards and 94 touchdown throws behind him at Mississippi State, making him one of the SEC’s most productive quarterbacks ever.

Demond Williams Jr. and Dermaricus Davis are freshmen QBs who give the UW great hope for the future. Skylar Lin Visuals

The Brandon, Mississippi, native gives the Huskies its second consecutive offensive leader who speaks in the huddle with a lazy Southern drawl.

“I’m not Michael Penix or anything like that,” Rogers said. “I’m not going to be able to make some of the throws and the plays that he did, but I’m my own self. That’s just a confidence with myself that a lot of quarterbacks have.”

Behind him is No. 2, both in uniform and on the depth chart, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Williams, who might be the fastest quarterback the Huskies have had since Brunell was a super swift sophomore in 1990 before he tore up his knee in spring football after his Rose Bowl heroics.

The Chandler, Arizona, product runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash that might not be totally accurate. He’s looked faster than that dazzling spring football observers with his scrambling ability through seven practices.

Will Rogers comes to the UW from Mississippi State with 12,315 passing yards. Skylar Lin Visuals

No. 9 is the most physically impressive looking quarterback of the bunch in the 6-foot-5, 187-pound Davis, affectionately known as Mar Mar. He’s big and fast.

“They’re just really talented guys,” Rogers said of his two understudies. “Mar Mar obviously is a big guy, really really strong in the weight room and can really throw the football. And obviously Demond is pretty special, really twitched up and can really throw the football.”

The Huskies, under new coach Jedd Fisch, can feel pretty good about themselves when it comes to their quarterbacks. Now if they can only find some guys to block for them and keep them all well protected and productive.