Rhode Island quarterback Vito Priore has made plenty of big throws this season, perhaps none more important than the 14-yard touchdown pass he tossed to Aaron Parker in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s game against Brown.

URI trailed by four points before that TD pass, which came with 5:43 to play in a game the Rams hung on to win 31-28. 

URI entered that contest with an 0-4 record that included three extra-painful losses. After opening the season with a 41-20 setback to Ohio — an FBS program — URI lost to Delaware 44-36 in triple overtime; to New Hampshire 27-24 on a last-second field goal; and to Stony Brook 31-27 when the Seawolves scored on a 50-yard run with 11 seconds to play.

Priore’s TD pass to Parker finally gave the Rams (1-4, 0-3) something to show for their efforts this season.

“We just had to find a way to finish a game, really,” Priore said. “We knew it wasn’t for lack of talent. It wasn’t like we were not in these games, and these were good football teams we were playing. We knew we were a good football team and we had to get the first win out of the way.

“You have to stay mentally strong for sure. Obviously there’s frustration any time you lose three games in a row like that. We not only expected to win, we thought we played well enough at times to win ... deserved to win. Yeah, there was definitely some frustration."

The cup stays in Kingston. ? #GoRhody pic.twitter.com/qnRrc8OkYe

— Rhody Football (@RhodyFootball) October 6, 2019

“It’s a confidence boost to have one in the win column. You have to try to ride that out and keep it going.”

Priore, a 23-year-old junior, completed 31 of 44 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns in that victory. It was his third 300-yard passing game and his third game with three TD passes this season, and he was selected as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Priore will enter Saturday’s game at Virginia Tech ranked fourth among FCS quarterbacks in passing yards per game (343.4), eighth in total passing yards (1,717), and 17th in passing touchdowns (12). He leads the CAA in passing yards per game and total offense (339.2).

“Obviously those are big, productive numbers,” URI coach Jim Fleming said. “I was pleased with his performance. I don’t think it was his best, but he certainly got us to the win, which was important.

“From the whole season perspective, he’s been a very solid, good operator as we need that position to be. He’s been putting the ball in catchable areas for his guys. He’s got some guys who can go grab it for him and he’s been able to manufacture drives when we need them all season long. I’m not throwing any darts at him. He’s our guy and he’s doing a heckuva a job for us.”

It certainly helps to have the kind of targets Priore does. Wide receiver Aaron Parker has caught 42 passes for 682 yards and six touchdowns, and is second among FCS receivers in receiving yards. Wide receiver Isaiah Coulter has 34 receptions for 505 yards and four TDs, and is 17th among FCS receivers in receiving yards. Parker and Coulter rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the CAA in receptions per game and receiving yards per game.

Then there’s receiver/kick returner Ahmere Dorsey, No. 2 among CAA players in all-purpose yards per game (165.2).

Here's Priore on his talented group of receivers:

On Parker: “He’s one of the more talented guys I’ve seen. We came in together and you could see it as a freshman. He definitely had more of a dog mentality. Played hard and really went after the ball.”

On Coulter: “He’s got all the speed in the world. He can run by anybody. You can’t teach speed. That’s really his biggest advantage.”

On Dorsey: “It’s close between him and Aaron who’s more dangerous with the ball in their hands. He runs strong and has good balance.”

Redshirt junior Vito Priore threw for a career-high 430 yards on 30-of-48 passing, including three touchdowns in Saturday’s 3OT battle.

It was the eighth-highest single-game passing mark in program history, and just the 12th time a URI player has topped 400 passing yards. pic.twitter.com/Yk0i2RyVNN

— Rhody Football (@RhodyFootball) September 10, 2019

Priore, an Atlanta resident, broke his collarbone during the third game of his senior season in high school. He arrived at URI after playing a season at Georgia Prep Sports Academy and was no stranger to URI football since his father played quarterback for the Rams in the 1980s.

“My strengths would be I get the ball out on time and I’m a very accurate quarterback,” Priore said. “I can fit it into tight windows and I throw the back shoulder ball pretty well. When you have guys like I have running routes, that makes it very dangerous because they can adjust to the ball. That makes our offense incredibly dangerous.”

Priore played in six games last season and started in four. He passed for 310 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first career start, which came against Brown last year. 

He’s thrown 12 touchdown passes and had three passes intercepted (in 211 attempts) this season for an offense that leads the CAA in passing.

“I knew we had the pieces and we were going to be able to move the ball on people,” Priore said. “I don’t think it was a surprise to me that we’re doing it how we’re doing it, and I think it’s going to keep going that way. I think we’re a talented offense.

“I’ve been happy with the way I’ve played, but at the end of the day we have to find a way to get more wins.”