Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Miami Hurricanes said they will start N'Kosi Perry at quarterback against a ranked Virginia on Friday, in place of the injured Jarren Williams.
Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz announced the move Wednesday. Williams suffered a shoulder injury during Miami's loss last weekend to Virginia Tech, during which he threw three interceptions in the Hurricanes' first three possessions. Perry replaced him in the first quarter and passed for a career-high 422 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Diaz said Williams is still the Hurricanes' "guy," but Perry is the starter for "right now."
"Jarren Williams is dealing with an upper extremity issue that leaves him less than 100 percent," Diaz told reporters. "We think N'Kosi gives us a chance to win. I think we all saw, last Saturday, the improvement in his game.
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"We're excited to get behind him, ride behind him and find a way to beat a very well-coached and tough-minded Virginia football team."
Perry completed 50.8 percent of his passes for 1,091 yards, 13 scores and six interceptions in 11 games last season. He completed 3-of-6 passes for 20 yards and two interceptions in last year's game against Virginia. Williams completed 72.4 percent of his throws for 1,074 yards, seven scores and three interceptions in five games this season. He hadn't thrown an interception all season until his second pass of the game last Saturday was picked off by Hokies defensive back Jermaine Waller.
"I just want to get a win for the team," Perry said. "We need to get that feeling back so we can get used to winning. We have history, but I didn't play well last year and we didn't get the win last year, so the whole team didn't play well.
"We just want to go out and show that we can compete with anybody."
The Hurricanes (2-3) host the Cavaliers (4-1) at 8 p.m. EDT Friday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The Hokies are ranked 20th and 19th in the Associated Press and coaches poll, respectively.
