QB Williams to Arizona after Ole Miss decommit

Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff WriterJul 31, 2023, 01:39 PM ET

Four-star quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who had been previously committed to coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, committed to Arizona on Monday morning.

Williams, ranked 219th overall in the 2024 ESPN 300 and a product of Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona, was in Tucson this past weekend to visit coach Jedd Fisch and his staff.

“I feel like the [coaching staff’s] NFL background and the way that they run their offense [is] definitely to my play style and [will] get me prepared for the next level,” Williams told ESPN. “… I feel like they’ve always had faith in me and trust in me since Day 1 when they offered me as a 14-year-old freshman.”

In 13 games last season as a junior for the Bears, Williams completed 68% of his passes for 2,339 yards with 23 touchdowns and just one interception while churning out 764 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns.

For the first time in program history, Arizona has secured commitments from both the No. 1 offensive player and No. 1 defensive player in the state. Defensive end Elijah Rushing (No. 20 overall in 2024), who attends Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, stayed home after committing on July 6 and is the highest-ranked player ever to commit to Arizona.

“We have a great relationship,” Williams said. “I’ve known him since I was in seventh or eighth grade. We’ve always kept tabs on each other, and we got a chance to play against each other last year. That was fun. I feel like being able to team up and help change the program around is just something that only a few people could do.”

Arizona’s 2023 class ranked 36th overall (seventh in the Pac-12), and its 2022 class finished 25th overall (second in the Pac-12) in ESPN’s rankings. The Wildcats haven’t had a winning season since 2017, and Fisch oversaw a four-win improvement (1-11 to 5-7) from 2021 to 2022.

Fisch has worked for seven different NFL teams, while offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll spent six seasons as the Seahawks’ run game coordinator (2015-20).

Under Carroll last season, the Wildcats’ offense averaged 31 points per game, finished sixth in the Pac-12 in total offense (462.4 YPG) and ended up third in the conference in passing (318.4 YPG).

“I think I’ll fit in great,” Williams said. “I feel like I have a similar play style to their current quarterback, Jayden de Laura (3,685 passing yards, 25 passing TDs; 122 rushing yards, four rushing TDs), and I feel like it’d be a great fit for the both of us.”

After initially offering his pledge to Kiffin on Dec. 30, 2022, Williams said he decided to take a second look at things when he decommitted from the Rebels on July 7.

“Just going through the whole process, I don’t think they necessarily did anything wrong,” Williams said. “I just need to make sure, reassure myself that I was making the right decision.”

Ole Miss’ 2024 class is ranked 17th, and it flipped quarterback Austin Simmons from Florida on June 17. Simmons has reclassified from the 2025 class into the 2023 class.