Coe: Can Huskies QB repair damage of brief departure?

Published 8:30 am Friday, January 9, 2026

College football is one side of a dysfunctional relationship.

We hate it. We love it. We want to leave it, but down deep, an irrational part of us believes we can fix all our issues and start over.

And, yeah, that’s what many will do, even if it breaks hearts again.

We’ll be a little more guarded, though. We’ll take it day by day, season by season, knowing that the athletes and coaches we feel we got to know may be gone at any time.

It makes me wonder how Washington Huskies coach Jedd Fisch felt the last few days.

Fisch’s face lights up every time he talks about Demond Williams Jr., who stunned his coaches, teammates — and perhaps all of college football — on Tuesday when he announced he was entering the transfer portal just a few days after signing a contract to play at UW for the 2026 season.

Williams announced on Instagram Thursday that he’s back, but some will never fully forgive. He’ll be scrutinized more by fans if he struggles on the field this fall. Most forgave his uneven play against top teams because he was 19. He’ll be a junior next year, and the kid gloves are off. Welcome to the real world.

Is there a little part of Fisch that will hold on to events of the past few days?

Fisch also posted on Instagram, welcoming back his quarterback.

“Over the last few days, Demond and I have engaged in very honest and heartfelt conversations about his present and future. We both agree that the University of Washington is the best place for him to continue his academic, athletic and social development. I appreciate Demond’s statement. I support him, and we will work together to begin the process of repairing relationships and regaining the trust of the Husky community.”

His trust and respect for Williams seemed so strong that I never believed he’d pull this face-of-the-program quarterback for performance. If a Wisconsin-like game happens in 2026, would Fisch throw someone else in the game? It never crossed my mind that snowy night in Madison. In 2026, it might.

I’ve sat in front of Fisch many, many times during media sessions, but I don’t know him very well. The relationships he builds and maintains with players seem genuine, though.

That’s why I believe Williams’ blindside hurt.

Prior to spring football, I listened to Jedd Fisch say that the 19-year-old would be “the face of the program.”

Is it fair now to ask which program?

The events of the past few years have rocked many fan bases. Have you checked in on your WSU friends lately? College football burns come in many degrees, but virtually every fan base feels some level of pain in this new era. The transfer portal frustrates many, even those supportive of athletes earning a share of the billions they generate mostly for others.

UW lost a head coach four days after appearing in the College Football Playoff national championship game following the 2023 season, and now the fans felt two days of being spurned by a quarterback after a season that left many optimistic about 2026.

Williams’ near departure led to one of the few times I’ve heard from friends who are Washington football fans feeling ready to jump off the bandwagon:

“Should I renew my tickets?”

“I’m never giving one more penny to that program.”

One person said after the Williams’ initial announcement, “My 10-year-old son is devastated.”

I wonder how much fans will hold onto a little anger — something perhaps only Williams becoming a Heisman finalist and getting to the CFP can overcome.

With Williams coming back, maybe people will proceed with renewing their season tickets prior to Friday’s earlybird deadline. If you’re a big-time donor, though, are you throwing chunks of cash to keep certain players? Boosters will have to switch gears quickly with players entering and exiting the portal.

Fandom is an addiction, and it often comes with extreme emotions. Some of the anger toward Williams will dissipate, but the comment about the 10-year-old’s devastation struck a nerve with me.

My son became a massive fan of the Huskies as a child, even though his first memories of the program came during the stench of the Tyrone Willingham regime. His uncle and cousin got him hooked, taking him to picture day, to games, etc. I took him to some games as well.

He fell hard for Jake Locker, convinced like many that the quarterback from Ferndale was UW’s savior. And it could be argued that he was.

My son is 25 now, and has lived away from home for years. There’s still a size small No. 10 jersey hanging in my son’s room, which I now use as an office.

I’m not sure either one of us will ever have the heart to take it down.

Back then, there were thousands of kids running around with No. 10 jerseys. None of them said “Locker” on the back, because athletes did not receive any proceeds from sales.

I’m not sure how many have Williams Jr.’s No. 2. Maybe a few got burned in the last two days. A lesson has been learned. Be careful about buying a player’s jersey. You might not be wearing it for long.

As the old saying goes, it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. But maybe love a nameless, faceless team rather than individual players. In an ideal sports world, fans should root for the logo on the helmet rather than the names on the backs of uniforms.

But it doesn’t always work that way.

We may never fully know why Williams stepped toward the portal and then retreated. Had he stayed away, Williams could not have been forced to play for the Huskies. Litigation, most likely resolved long after the 2026 season elsewhere, would have followed.

Per a report from Yahoo.com’s Ross Dellenger, Williams or his new school would have owed UW approximately $4 million — the full value of his contract with Washington — had he moved on. And that amount would have counted against the new team’s revenue share cap.

Maybe that’s why he’s back, but we’ll likely never know. Maybe he’s a kid who got some bad advice and figured it out. Maybe he had a change of heart.

It’s possible, though, that he permanently took one more piece of each fan’s heart with him.

Time will tell if those wounds heal.

This story originally appeared at www.emeraldcityspectrum.com