Owen PustellOle Miss 2024 quarterback prospect Demond Williams officially decommitted from the Rebels on Friday, July 17 in a turn of events that some fans saw coming.
Williams, who committed on Dec. 30, 2022, backed off his pledge following the fascinating commitment of Austin Simmons to Ole Miss. Simmons, who many fans believe is the catalyst for Williams’ recent decision, decommitted from Florida and reclassified from the class of 2025 to 2023.
With the already stacked QB room, Williams made the tough decision to reopen his recruitment. As is typical for many decommits, Williams still sees Ole Miss as a top destination.
Williams is a four-star recruit according to the 247sports consensus with a grade of .9044, making him the 299th ranked recruit nationally. He was the fourth-highest graded member of the 2024 class and one of the key faces of the class in terms of recruiting other prospects.
Williams is projected to side with head coach Jedd Fisch and the Arizona Wildcats.
So what does this mean for the QB room moving forward? In short, nothing much.
Williams is a strong QB prospect, but he simply does not fit the timeline of the room. Assuming everything goes according to plan, Jaxon Dart will start again in 2023, Walker Howard will start in 2024 and Austin Simmons will take over in 2025 as a 19-year old junior.
The first year Williams would plausibly be competing for the starting job would be 2026, three years after he would have enrolled at Ole Miss. Someone of Williams’ caliber wants the opportunity to play immediately, and that would not be the case in Oxford.
Though Rebel fans should be sad to see him go, the loss is very easy to stomach from the viewpoint of roster longevity.
Williams has instantly become the highest rated QB on the market, leaving it unclear whether Kiffin will pursue another QB in the 2024 class. If Kiffin does opt to replace Williams with another QB, the highest-rated available QB with an offer is Braden Graham, but as a low three-star it seems unlikely there is any traction.
The likely next step for Kiffin and the Rebels will be to turn all QB attention to 2025 star Deuce Knight. The in-state signal caller is already ranked inside the top-100 and has a chance to compete for the No. 2 spot at his position. Given the long-term security Ole Miss has under center, it makes sense to make a run at the top talent in state.
Though Williams would have been an exciting player to watch in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, fans can rest assured knowing the future is as bright as ever under center.
