Kansas backup quarterback Keaton Perry (8) pulls back to throws as Texas safety Kevin Vaccaro (18) closes in during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 at Darrell K. Royal Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Austin, Texas ? When David Beaty finally pulled the plug on injury-plagued quarterback Ryan Willis in the fourth quarter of the Kansas University football team’s 59-20 loss at Texas, KU’s head coach turned to third-string QB Keaton Perry and not immediate back-up T.J. Millweard.
The reason?
“In that game, we thought there was some quarterback run-game stuff that we were trying to get accomplished, and Keaton actually runs the ball a little bit better than T.J. does,” Beaty said.
With Willis’ status for the second half uncertain, Beaty said the coaching staff talked to Millweard at halftime about the decision to go with Perry.
“He was hurting,” Beaty said of Willis, who injured his groin during the loss. “He’s a tough dude. He kept playing. We weren’t sure if he was going to (take the field) at all in the second half.”
Coincidentally, Perry’s biggest contribution after spelling Willis came in the form of a 19-yard touchdown pass to Darious Crawley with 1:07 to play. Perry finished 2-of-6 passing for 20 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added seven yards on one carry on the ground.
A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.
Nick Krug
