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The decision by Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to enter the transfer portal shocked and angered the Huskies because only days earlier the sophomore breakout star had signed a lucrative name, image and likeness deal to remain in Seattle.

Legal action by Washington would be no surprise two weeks after similar events prompted an exchange of lawsuits involving Damon Wilson II, an edge rusher who transferred from Georgia to Missouri in January 2025, days after signing an NIL contract.

With recruiting strategy reduced to shoveling stacks of NIL dollars at players who jump through the transfer portal seemingly at will, it’s no wonder loyalty and etiquette have given way to opportunity and greed.

And it should surprise no one that the implementation of rules might be done by judges, not NCAA officials or conference commissioners.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Washington is “prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce Williams’ signed contract,” and the quarterback’s situation has also “drawn the attention of the Big Ten.” Already, Washington has declined to enter Williams’ name into the portal, citing language in the NIL contract that states the school is not obligated to do so.

It appears Washington wants to play hardball, much the way Georgia is attempting to do with Wilson, whose countersuit against the Bulldogs claims he was one of several players pressured into signing his NIL contract on Dec. 21, 2024. Georgia is seeking $390,000 in damages, pointing to a liquidated damage fee clause in the NIL contract that may or may not hold up in court.

Washington officials suspect that another school contacted Williams after he had signed his Huskies deal, and submitted evidence of tampering to the Big Ten. Tony Petitti, the conference commissioner, happened to be in Seattle on Tuesday for a Celebration of Life service for Washington goalkeeper Mia Hamant, who died on Nov. 6 from an rare form of kidney cancer.

Many Huskies football players and coaches also were in attendance when Williams posted his official announcement about entering the transfer portal on Instagram.

“To post his decision to enter the portal during the service was, at best, the result of horrible advice from his PR team, and at worst, a stunning lack of self-awareness,” wrote Matt Calkins in the Seattle Times.

Williams’ NIL deal with Washington for 2026 was estimated at $4 million, a reasonable number for a quarterback who was among the top 15 nationally in passing efficiency, passing yards and yards per attempt. He attempted to enter the portal with a “do not contact” tag, an indication he has a destination in mind.

A chronology of top quarterback movement in recent days provides circumstantial evidence that Louisiana State and Williams have mutual interest. LSU, of course, has a new coach in Lane Kiffin, and a need at quarterback. Turns out Williams and Kiffin aren’t strangers.

Kiffin’s first target was Brendan Sorsby, who had left Cincinnati, but he committed to Texas Tech. Sam Leavitt of Arizona State is considered the best quarterback left in the portal, and he visited Baton Rouge this week before heading to Tennessee for another visit.

However, Kiffin easily could shift his attention to Williams, a dual-threat signal-caller who while in high school committed to Ole Miss when Kiffin was coach. He eventually signed with Arizona, and when coach Jedd Fisch took the job at Washington, Williams followed him.

Williams blossomed as a sophomore in 2025, passing for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions while adding 611 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

In his lengthy Instagram post, Williams thanked everyone associated with Washington before revealing the news: “I have to do what is best for me and my future. After much thought and prayer, I will be entering the transfer portal.”

He’s not there yet.

The crowd couldn’t believe what it had just witnessed.

Donovan Dent’s crossover move left a helpless defender watching from behind as he accelerated toward the basket, fans unleashing audible admiration even before the UCLA point guard completed the play with a driving layup.

Poor Noah Meeusen and everyone else who tried to stop Dent.

They were overmatched by the finishing ability and fearlessness of a player who had not shown much of either over the season’s first month, hardly resembling the star the Bruins thought they were getting.

On a revelation of a Wednesday night inside Pauley Pavilion, Dent finally looked like someone who could carry a team.

He did exactly that, the transfer from New Mexico helping the Bruins fend off Arizona State during a 90-77 victory that had his handprints all over it.

There were blow-by layups, floaters, a rare three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play on a jumper he threw up while getting fouled and falling down along the baseline. Dent unveiled a full array of moves on the way to scoring 20 points while making nine of 17 shots.

Dent’s understudy also came up huge. After the Sun Devils made things uncomfortably close midway through the second half, pulling to within five points, UCLA reserve guard Trent Perry made sure they would get no closer.

Perry rose for a three-pointer and then after teammate Brandon Williams made an energizing block at the rim, triggering a fast break, Perry found Skyy Clark for a three-pointer that extended the Bruins’ advantage to double digits.

Clark finished with 18 points on the strength of six three-pointers and Tyler Bilodeau added 18 points to help UCLA (8-3) bounce back from its loss to Gonzaga by holding off an old Pac-12 rival. Guard Anthony Johnson led Arizona State (9-3) with 20 points.

Dent’s final highlight came on a pass in transition to an open Clark, who rose for a three-pointer that gave UCLA a 12-point lead. In perhaps the only blemish on his night, Dent logged just four assists to go with his four turnovers.

It was an ensemble performance for the Bruins. UCLA coach Mick Cronin inserted backup center Steven Jamerson into his lineup to start the second half and Jamerson quickly rewarded him by chasing down an offensive rebound in the corner and adding two putback dunks.

But the big story was one of redemption.

It picked up momentum late in the first half when Dent rose without hesitation for a three-pointer. It was only Dent’s second made three-pointer of the season and his first since the season opener after a string of 12 consecutive misses dropped his accuracy from beyond the arc to 7.7%.

It was a stunning dropoff for someone who had made 40.9% of his three-pointers last season at New Mexico. His second make of the season from long distance increased his accuracy to 14.3%, still unsightly but at least no longer in single digits.

What was perhaps most pleasing about Dent’s performance in the first half was his heightened confidence level. He repeatedly beat his defender for driving layups, his aggressiveness an equal asset to his speed in rolling up 13 points on six-for-eight shooting by the game’s midpoint.