January 7, 2026 • 12 mins
Rick Neuheisel of CBS Sports joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the Demond Williams transfer situation and news last night, what comes next for both him and the school with a possible settlement, UW’s next quarterback, and playoff games.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Your home for college football Saturdays is Live with CBS
Sports analyst Rick new Heiseel, powered by Taco Time. Hungry
at Taco Time, It's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest Taco Time Time for something different?
(00:25):
Now with Rick Neuheisel, here's Softian Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
All Right, typically hear this guy on Thursdays during the
college football season, but an emergency visits with the former
head coach of the Huskies, now a brand new head
coach in the usf owl Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
By the way, ufl ufl uf ol take the out
ufl uf ol u f l I got it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We will chat about that and wish you luck down
the road and that endeavor for sure.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
But dude, the news comes down last night about six o'clock,
Demon Williams putting his name in the train for portal,
shocking pretty much everybody. This is just four days after
he had signed a nil and revenue shared deal with
Washington Friday. The next story you typically hear in that
regard is it, Well, the star quarterback is helping the
(01:14):
coach find new players to make the football team better,
not that he's leaving the program. So let's just give
you the floor. Your reaction to last night's news.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
Coach, Well, it's troubling if you're a Washington fan. It's
certainly troubling if you're Jed Fish. And with the donation,
with the designation along the entry into the portal is
do not contact, that means that somebody probably has contacted him,
(01:43):
and so this deal could be in the offing, and
when it happens, we'll wait and see. But given the
fact that he signed a document that says he's bound
to Washington, it will be an interesting legal challenge and
I'm sure that Washington I think I've read where Washington
is already pursuing their legal strategy as to how to
(02:07):
proceed in this deal. I mean, no one wants a
guy who doesn't want to be there, But this is
so crazy given the success that the youngsters had with
Jedfish as his head coach. I know, we all know
what kind of a wonderful place Washington is, but what
has happened over the last forty eight hours is the
(02:27):
quarterback marketplace has changed drastically in terms of what kids
are commanding from a revenue standpoint. The number that's being
thrown around at Texas Tech with their commitment from Brendan Soresby,
the kid that was the quarterback at Cincinnati this last
(02:48):
year and previous to that, was that Indiana is close
to six million dollars. And at six million dollars, that
means Sam Lovett's going to be able to command a
huge amount, whether it be Miami or LSU. And somehow,
some way, whether Demand's agent did it or somebody called
(03:09):
him said and I don't know what his deal is
with Washington, but somebody said, you're about it, said here's
what the numbers are. You need to reconsider this or
the other potential is some school now realizing and if
you're LSU or Miami with soores be off the list.
(03:30):
You're one of those guys that says we're going to
end up short of a elite quarterback, and here's the
next one on the elite list. Let's see if he
can be persuaded. So, if you're just trying to guess
what happened, that seems to be to be the most
logical well.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Rick, how can he sign a one year deal and
get out of it without any repercussions? I mean, what
type of precedent would that set throughout college football? I mean,
these nil deals would not be worth the paper they're
printed on if Washington doesn't get some sort of penalty payment.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Here, agreed, agreed. As a matter of fact, Georgia right
now is suing a linebacker who left them after signing
an NIL deal a year ago. I think they paid
thirty thousand to three hundred and some odd thousand that
the deal was that they had agreed to, and then
the kid left for greener pastures with an emphasis on
(04:24):
greener they that's in litigation right now. I don't know
exactly what the tail of the tape will be. When
you know, those in the world of jurisprudence look at
this stuff. But in contract law, when there is offer
and there is acceptance and there was consideration within the contract,
(04:47):
that forms a contract, and usually there are damages when
you break the contract, and the damages in this case
would be extreme.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Yeah, I was gonna say, don't you have a law degree?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
By the way I do contract that was the first
thing you learned. N offer acceptance. But there has to
be consideration, and I'm sure there was plenty of consideration
involved in Nabon Williams deal with the University of Washington.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well, I mean Rick new Heisel with US and Rick
here's where I'm coming from. Demon Williams will never play
it down again for you, dub Ever, It's it's over.
He's gone, He's he's burned that bridge. It's done. The
only question is what does Washington get, you know, on
the back end as far as a settlement from LSU
or whatever team he ends up going to. And then
what does Jetfish do on the other side of this?
(05:33):
I mean put yourself in his shoes. You can play
by the greasy rules that have been set up by
college football's lack of governance and go after somebody else's
Demon Williams if you want, who's under contract with a
different team, or you can look to the portal and
look to guys like Sam Levitt or maybe you know
a Dominic Raiola or a DJ Lagway. I mean, the
(05:53):
Pickens are slims. So what's your move if you're Jetfish.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Well, if you're of the mind that the bridge is burned,
then you have to go into the portal and you
have to do the best you can. And Jed's been,
you know, very good at finding guys Will Rogers, whether
you know whoever is out there. The DJ Lagway thing
(06:19):
probably will have some intrigue. But I'm telling you again,
this all comes down now to who's got the loot
because the money out there is exorbitant. My son is
now the quarterback coach at Northwestern and they just signed
to aid and Childs and I can't tell you how
much money they gave him. I can't tell you, but
(06:41):
it's incredible what the marketplace is, but it is. It's
one of those things that Jed's going to have to
get in and get in quickly, yeah, because it's going
to dry up.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Well, I think you're right about getting in quickly, because
don't you think, Rick, that there are a lot of
quarterbacks out there that have not signed deals yet, that
are all on teams, but they have not signed nil
deals for twenty point six sec demand a week ago
hadn't signed an nil deal with Washington. So what do
you think the percentage of the top thirty quarterbacks in
the nation that are actually already locked up the deals
(07:14):
for next year?
Speaker 5 (07:16):
So It's interesting you should ask that because I've been
on the phone with a number of college coaches as
I'm trying to assess who to take in this UFL
draft right because no one has a player, so I'm
got to turn in the list of five quarterbacks tomorrow.
So I'm trying to get as much information on these
guys as I can, and in talking to these coaches,
(07:37):
I'm pulling them away from what they're doing in the
transfer portal, and they're all like, thank god, I get
to talk about something other than money. Thank God, I
get to talk about a kid, rather than you having
to smile and act as if it's a wonderful deal
that I'm able to give this guy, you know, bundles
of money more than anybody's worth, because it's just crazy,
(07:58):
most of these guys having had eperiencing what college athletics
have been previous to this time. So it's a wild
wild West, and the money is going incredibly. I mean,
it's an unsustainable model what's happening right now. And Sam
Lovitt and Demon Williams have got the tiger by the
tail right now when it comes to what they can
(08:21):
command given what the marketplace actually is right now.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Yeah, well there's names I've heard.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
I've heard Levitt's name, I've heard Noah Fafiita's name from Arizona.
I've even heard Bo Pribula, the former Penn State Missouri quarterback,
as a potential target for you dubs. So I don't know, mean,
if it came down to guys like that, is there
a preference for you? Levet over forefeeda for example, what
would be your preference if you had five million dollars
(08:48):
now to go spend it a quarterback, who would you
spend it on?
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Well, Levitt would be high on the list, and Jed's
knowledge of Faffita would be right there next. Those two
guys would the bill. And but I think five million,
as crazy as this sounds, at least for Levitt would
be light not enough. Fafita might be that deal. But yeah,
(09:14):
I mean it's just craziness. And right now, what do
we It's January sixth seventh, whatever it is today, we
have tell the twelfth or excuse me, tell the sixteenth
for people to get into it. So there's ample time
for those who are still out there that are you know,
accomplished quarterbacks to just still consider this. And again there's
(09:38):
this market ever growing in coming down to you know,
programs like Miami and LSU or who are counting on
a portal guy they're willing to spend. You can't spend
ninety one million dollars on Lane Kiffin and not go
get a quarterback for right.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Well, and Rick, just going back to the question about
Demon William's future, I mean, I was kind of taking
it back is the wrong word, but when I mentioned
the idea that Demand's done at Washington, you kind of
answered that like, well, okay, if that's the way you feel,
are you telling me that you could see a scenario
after the last twenty four hours where Demand Williams maybe
pulls his name out of the portal and comes back
(10:15):
to Washington.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
I can see a situation where Washington sweetens the deal
and he as he said, I have to do it's
best for me. Well, if what's best for you is
to stay within a program that you've already been on
and been coached by, and to be able to sustain
that and continue to grow on that, that might be
best for you financially. We don't know how far apart
(10:39):
what the new market is and what Demand got because
everybody keeps these cards so close to the best. But
until we get some transparency around this, we're going to
end up making villains out of young people, which is
really sad.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Well, isn't also a possibility that demand going along those
lines of thinking, that Demon either plays at Washington or
he can't play anywhere because Washington will not allow him to.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
I don't know about the legality of the document signed.
What the document is, Is it name, image and likeness?
Is it for pay for play? These are the kind
of things that none of us really know, because it's
a brave new world. We just don't know. And what
kind of what kind of you know, hold or potential
(11:32):
hold on Demon's career Washington has based on the signature
of the contract that he signed. I don't have any
idea what that looks like. And until any any of
us actually get to see what he signed, then I
don't think any of us can answer that appropriately.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
All Right, before you go, who do you like to
play in Miami for the title?
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I think it's going to be Miami, in Indiana Miami.
I think Miami's just they've got to they can create
a pass rush without adding to the pressure. You don't
have to add a fifth guy. They can run the
ball and they can stop ol missus running game and
keep Shambliss from getting his legs involved. Then it's going
(12:16):
to be Miami. And in the other game, shoot, I
was there for the first one and that was Indiana
going to Eugene and they held them to forty one
yards in the second half up until the last clock
rive when it was a two score game. And that
we've got a better version of Indiana right now based
on that performance in the Rose Bowl. The confidence level
(12:36):
is high. So I'm going to take Indiana and I'm
going to take Miami.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I love it. That works for me, man, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Rick, great stuff, Thanks for doing this and we'll talk
down the road, Bud, Thanks boy.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
I look forward to it. Boys.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Thanks bet Rick new Eiel with us lots to discuss.
We'll discuss all of it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Next big day Demand Williams and the portal, how about
that coming up on ninety three three KJRFM
Your home for college football Saturdays is Live with CBS
Sports analyst Rick new Heiseel, powered by Taco Time. Hungry
at Taco Time, It's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest Taco Time Time for something different?
(00:25):
Now with Rick Neuheisel, here's Softian Dick.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
All Right, typically hear this guy on Thursdays during the
college football season, but an emergency visits with the former
head coach of the Huskies, now a brand new head
coach in the usf owl Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
By the way, ufl ufl uf ol take the out
ufl uf ol u f l I got it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We will chat about that and wish you luck down
the road and that endeavor for sure.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Man.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
But dude, the news comes down last night about six o'clock,
Demon Williams putting his name in the train for portal,
shocking pretty much everybody. This is just four days after
he had signed a nil and revenue shared deal with
Washington Friday. The next story you typically hear in that
regard is it, Well, the star quarterback is helping the
(01:14):
coach find new players to make the football team better,
not that he's leaving the program. So let's just give
you the floor. Your reaction to last night's news.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
Coach, Well, it's troubling if you're a Washington fan. It's
certainly troubling if you're Jed Fish. And with the donation,
with the designation along the entry into the portal is
do not contact, that means that somebody probably has contacted him,
(01:43):
and so this deal could be in the offing, and
when it happens, we'll wait and see. But given the
fact that he signed a document that says he's bound
to Washington, it will be an interesting legal challenge and
I'm sure that Washington I think I've read where Washington
is already pursuing their legal strategy as to how to
(02:07):
proceed in this deal. I mean, no one wants a
guy who doesn't want to be there, But this is
so crazy given the success that the youngsters had with
Jedfish as his head coach. I know, we all know
what kind of a wonderful place Washington is, but what
has happened over the last forty eight hours is the
(02:27):
quarterback marketplace has changed drastically in terms of what kids
are commanding from a revenue standpoint. The number that's being
thrown around at Texas Tech with their commitment from Brendan Soresby,
the kid that was the quarterback at Cincinnati this last
(02:48):
year and previous to that, was that Indiana is close
to six million dollars. And at six million dollars, that
means Sam Lovett's going to be able to command a
huge amount, whether it be Miami or LSU. And somehow,
some way, whether Demand's agent did it or somebody called
(03:09):
him said and I don't know what his deal is
with Washington, but somebody said, you're about it, said here's
what the numbers are. You need to reconsider this or
the other potential is some school now realizing and if
you're LSU or Miami with soores be off the list.
(03:30):
You're one of those guys that says we're going to
end up short of a elite quarterback, and here's the
next one on the elite list. Let's see if he
can be persuaded. So, if you're just trying to guess
what happened, that seems to be to be the most
logical well.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Rick, how can he sign a one year deal and
get out of it without any repercussions? I mean, what
type of precedent would that set throughout college football? I mean,
these nil deals would not be worth the paper they're
printed on if Washington doesn't get some sort of penalty payment.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Here, agreed, agreed. As a matter of fact, Georgia right
now is suing a linebacker who left them after signing
an NIL deal a year ago. I think they paid
thirty thousand to three hundred and some odd thousand that
the deal was that they had agreed to, and then
the kid left for greener pastures with an emphasis on
(04:24):
greener they that's in litigation right now. I don't know
exactly what the tail of the tape will be. When
you know, those in the world of jurisprudence look at
this stuff. But in contract law, when there is offer
and there is acceptance and there was consideration within the contract,
(04:47):
that forms a contract, and usually there are damages when
you break the contract, and the damages in this case
would be extreme.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Yeah, I was gonna say, don't you have a law degree?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
By the way I do contract that was the first
thing you learned. N offer acceptance. But there has to
be consideration, and I'm sure there was plenty of consideration
involved in Nabon Williams deal with the University of Washington.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Well, I mean Rick new Heisel with US and Rick
here's where I'm coming from. Demon Williams will never play
it down again for you, dub Ever, It's it's over.
He's gone, He's he's burned that bridge. It's done. The
only question is what does Washington get, you know, on
the back end as far as a settlement from LSU
or whatever team he ends up going to. And then
what does Jetfish do on the other side of this?
(05:33):
I mean put yourself in his shoes. You can play
by the greasy rules that have been set up by
college football's lack of governance and go after somebody else's
Demon Williams if you want, who's under contract with a
different team, or you can look to the portal and
look to guys like Sam Levitt or maybe you know
a Dominic Raiola or a DJ Lagway. I mean, the
(05:53):
Pickens are slims. So what's your move if you're Jetfish.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Well, if you're of the mind that the bridge is burned,
then you have to go into the portal and you
have to do the best you can. And Jed's been,
you know, very good at finding guys Will Rogers, whether
you know whoever is out there. The DJ Lagway thing
(06:19):
probably will have some intrigue. But I'm telling you again,
this all comes down now to who's got the loot
because the money out there is exorbitant. My son is
now the quarterback coach at Northwestern and they just signed
to aid and Childs and I can't tell you how
much money they gave him. I can't tell you, but
(06:41):
it's incredible what the marketplace is, but it is. It's
one of those things that Jed's going to have to
get in and get in quickly, yeah, because it's going
to dry up.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Well, I think you're right about getting in quickly, because
don't you think, Rick, that there are a lot of
quarterbacks out there that have not signed deals yet, that
are all on teams, but they have not signed nil
deals for twenty point six sec demand a week ago
hadn't signed an nil deal with Washington. So what do
you think the percentage of the top thirty quarterbacks in
the nation that are actually already locked up the deals
(07:14):
for next year?
Speaker 5 (07:16):
So It's interesting you should ask that because I've been
on the phone with a number of college coaches as
I'm trying to assess who to take in this UFL
draft right because no one has a player, so I'm
got to turn in the list of five quarterbacks tomorrow.
So I'm trying to get as much information on these
guys as I can, and in talking to these coaches,
(07:37):
I'm pulling them away from what they're doing in the
transfer portal, and they're all like, thank god, I get
to talk about something other than money. Thank God, I
get to talk about a kid, rather than you having
to smile and act as if it's a wonderful deal
that I'm able to give this guy, you know, bundles
of money more than anybody's worth, because it's just crazy,
(07:58):
most of these guys having had eperiencing what college athletics
have been previous to this time. So it's a wild
wild West, and the money is going incredibly. I mean,
it's an unsustainable model what's happening right now. And Sam
Lovitt and Demon Williams have got the tiger by the
tail right now when it comes to what they can
(08:21):
command given what the marketplace actually is right now.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Yeah, well there's names I've heard.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
I've heard Levitt's name, I've heard Noah Fafiita's name from Arizona.
I've even heard Bo Pribula, the former Penn State Missouri quarterback,
as a potential target for you dubs. So I don't know, mean,
if it came down to guys like that, is there
a preference for you? Levet over forefeeda for example, what
would be your preference if you had five million dollars
(08:48):
now to go spend it a quarterback, who would you
spend it on?
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Well, Levitt would be high on the list, and Jed's
knowledge of Faffita would be right there next. Those two
guys would the bill. And but I think five million,
as crazy as this sounds, at least for Levitt would
be light not enough. Fafita might be that deal. But yeah,
(09:14):
I mean it's just craziness. And right now, what do
we It's January sixth seventh, whatever it is today, we
have tell the twelfth or excuse me, tell the sixteenth
for people to get into it. So there's ample time
for those who are still out there that are you know,
accomplished quarterbacks to just still consider this. And again there's
(09:38):
this market ever growing in coming down to you know,
programs like Miami and LSU or who are counting on
a portal guy they're willing to spend. You can't spend
ninety one million dollars on Lane Kiffin and not go
get a quarterback for right.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Well, and Rick, just going back to the question about
Demon William's future, I mean, I was kind of taking
it back is the wrong word, but when I mentioned
the idea that Demand's done at Washington, you kind of
answered that like, well, okay, if that's the way you feel,
are you telling me that you could see a scenario
after the last twenty four hours where Demand Williams maybe
pulls his name out of the portal and comes back
(10:15):
to Washington.
Speaker 5 (10:18):
I can see a situation where Washington sweetens the deal
and he as he said, I have to do it's
best for me. Well, if what's best for you is
to stay within a program that you've already been on
and been coached by, and to be able to sustain
that and continue to grow on that, that might be
best for you financially. We don't know how far apart
(10:39):
what the new market is and what Demand got because
everybody keeps these cards so close to the best. But
until we get some transparency around this, we're going to
end up making villains out of young people, which is
really sad.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Well, isn't also a possibility that demand going along those
lines of thinking, that Demon either plays at Washington or
he can't play anywhere because Washington will not allow him to.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
I don't know about the legality of the document signed.
What the document is, Is it name, image and likeness?
Is it for pay for play? These are the kind
of things that none of us really know, because it's
a brave new world. We just don't know. And what
kind of what kind of you know, hold or potential
(11:32):
hold on Demon's career Washington has based on the signature
of the contract that he signed. I don't have any
idea what that looks like. And until any any of
us actually get to see what he signed, then I
don't think any of us can answer that appropriately.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
All Right, before you go, who do you like to
play in Miami for the title?
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I think it's going to be Miami, in Indiana Miami.
I think Miami's just they've got to they can create
a pass rush without adding to the pressure. You don't
have to add a fifth guy. They can run the
ball and they can stop ol missus running game and
keep Shambliss from getting his legs involved. Then it's going
(12:16):
to be Miami. And in the other game, shoot, I
was there for the first one and that was Indiana
going to Eugene and they held them to forty one
yards in the second half up until the last clock
rive when it was a two score game. And that
we've got a better version of Indiana right now based
on that performance in the Rose Bowl. The confidence level
(12:36):
is high. So I'm going to take Indiana and I'm
going to take Miami.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I love it. That works for me, man, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Rick, great stuff, Thanks for doing this and we'll talk
down the road, Bud, Thanks boy.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
I look forward to it. Boys.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Thanks bet Rick new Eiel with us lots to discuss.
We'll discuss all of it.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Next big day Demand Williams and the portal, how about
that coming up on ninety three three KJRFM
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