QB Williams to Arizona after Ole Miss decommit
Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Personnel WriterJul 31, 2023, 01:39 PM ET Four-star quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who had actually been formerly committed to coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, committed to Arizona on Monday morning.Williams, ranked 219th
total in the 2024 ESPN 300 and a product of Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona, remained in Tucson this previous weekend to visit coach Jedd Fisch and his staff.”I feel like the [
training staff’s] NFL background and the manner in which they run their offense [is] certainly to my play design and [will] get me prepared for the next level,”Williams informed ESPN.” … I seem like they have actually constantly trusted me and trust in me because Day 1 when they used me as a 14-year-old freshman.”In 13 games last season as a junior for the Bears, Williams finished 68%of his passes for 2,339 yards with 23 goals and simply one interception while producing 764 lawns on the ground and five rushing touchdowns.For the first time in program history, Arizona has actually secured commitments from both the No. 1 offending player and No. 1 protective
player in the state. Defensive end Elijah Rushing(No. 20 overall in 2024 ), who attends Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, stayed home after dedicating on July 6 and is the highest-ranked player ever to dedicate to Arizona.Editor’s Picks “We have a terrific
relationship,”Williams said.” I have actually known him since I was in seventh or 8th grade. We’ve constantly kept tabs on each other, and we got an opportunity to bet each other in 2015. That was enjoyable. I seem like being able to team up and assist change the program around is just something that only a few people might do.”
Arizona’s 2023 class ranked 36th total (seventh in the Pac-12), and its 2022 class completed 25th general (2nd in the Pac-12) in ESPN’s rankings. The Wildcats have not had a winning season given that 2017, and Fisch supervised a four-win enhancement (1-11 to 5-7) from 2021 to 2022.
Fisch has worked for 7 various NFL groups, while offending planner Brennan Carroll invested six seasons as the Seahawks’ run game planner (2015-20).
Under Carroll last season, the Wildcats’ offense balanced 31 points per game, finished sixth in the Pac-12 in total offense (462.4 YPG) and ended up 3rd in the conference in passing (318.4 YPG).
“I believe I’ll suit terrific,” Williams stated. “I seem like I have a similar play design to their current quarterback, Jayden de Laura (3,685 passing lawns, 25 passing TDs; 122 hurrying yards, four rushing TDs), and I seem like it ‘d be a fantastic fit for the both of us.”
After initially offering his promise to Kiffin on Dec. 30, 2022, Williams stated he chose to take a review at things when he decommitted from the Rebels on July 7.
“Simply going through the entire procedure, I don’t believe they always did anything wrong,” Williams said. “I just need to make sure, assure myself that I was making the best decision.”
Ole Miss’ 2024 class is ranked 17th, and it flipped quarterback Austin Simmons from Florida on June 17. Simmons has actually reclassified from the 2025 class into the 2023 class.