Keaton Perry replaces Ryan Willis late

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.

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