QB Luis Perez Interview - UFL Final 2024 Media Availability Day for Alan Alford Sports Talk Show!!!

Pleasure to see you. Hey, Allen. Hey. How you doing? I'm great. Before we get to, I guess, other business, I wanted to get your thoughts on how was it getting your ring on Friday? Oh, it was phenomenal. That's something that no one can ever take away from us, right? We're champs 2023 and, you know, it's always going to be a special season and we'll all be connected. Everybody a part of that is all connected for life. So it's definitely a good feeling. Yeah, that seemed like it was awesome. And then the game, how would you assess the Bata Hawks and the game? How it went for you? Yeah, no, Bata Hawks are a good football team. We were able to just, you know, execute our plays better and be more detailed like we talked during the week. It was just, hey, we got to be more detailed with everything we do. And we executed, our guys did a great job and sure, we got the win. It was good. Fun. Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, that's fantastic. And then, you know, they did say during the broadcast that you, you know, work with Kurt Warner as well as Drew Brees. How was it? What did you have you learned from those two gentlemen that has helped you in your career? Yeah. So I'll start with Drew. Me and Drew have worked out together the last, or before he retired, for five years out in San Diego with a coach named Todd Durkin and the quarterback coach, Tom House. So we've been together for five years and, you know, I learned a lot. I learned a lot from him, you know, not only just about playing the game, but just how he manages his teammates, how he, you know, communicates and, you know, there's a lot more to it than goes on and just, you know, throwing a football, right? It's getting guys to rally together, to believe in one another, to execute a common goal, right? So, you know, the way he was talking to Michael Thomas, you know, he brought out Darren Scrolls and Darren Scrolls was playing, you know, a lot of different guys were out there and, you know, the detail and the communication and the way he kind of just went about it was just amazing to see. And that's one thing that I always take wherever I go. You know, one guy you might have to, you know, get after his ass and say, hey, you know what? You better get going. You know, you better do the right thing. And another guy, you might have to pull to the side and say, hey, you know what, man, you got to pick it up. You know, it's all about tone and delivery of a message. And he does that perfectly. And so I try to take that and get to know each of my teammates and just, you know, do the best I can and get the best out of them. And then with Kurt, you know, big X and O's guys, you know, we got to be on his field. He actually has a football field in his backyard, which is pretty crazy. So he was, yeah, we were throwing the ball in the back. And, you know, again, both guys are very similar with the details, right? Everything is about details. And pro football, you know, the margin of error is so razor thin that, you know, you got to make sure you get the details right and doing right every single time, you know. So, you know, just talking footwork, talking X's and O's, talking concepts, how he's reading concepts and all that, you know, that was always good. So I talked a lot more about that with Kurt. So I learned that from him. Oh, yeah, that's wonderful. And then, you know, you have you're leading the league up until the last game of passing. Talk about that achievement for yourself. Yeah, you know, it's kind of bittersweet, you know, because, you know, we're not in the playoffs, so you can't really enjoy those personal accolades. You just can't because, you know, my goals and aspirations to go to the playoffs and win another championship. But, you know, for one thing or another, just, you know, fell short early on some of these games. And, you know, yeah, you know, it's cool that I have all these accolades. But, you know, again, it's really hard to enjoy them when you're not in the playoffs and you're going to next week, you know, you're going to be watching teams play and you're going to be at home. So it's not a good feeling. But, you know, on the personal side, yeah, you know, it's good that I'm doing well. Yes, and so there's no confusion as far as opportunity because it wasn't clear during the broadcast what type of opportunity you hoping for after the season is over. Yeah, well, I'm hoping for a fair, you know, shot, you know, to actually make a team in the NFL. So I think I think right now, you know, I'm not really focused on that right now. Whatever happens is going to happen. I just want to make sure, you know, I'm prepared and ready for the opportunity if it does come. I feel like I've done enough this year. Hopefully finish season off strong and kind of put the put the stamp on it. But yeah, you know, hoping for a fair opportunity to go out there and make it through my roster and just show people that I belong there. Yeah, that's awesome. And then the people who have supported this year, the fans, what can you say about the Arlington Renegades and their fans, you know, whether you come back or not? Yeah, no, these fans have been awesome. You know, we start off rough, but hey, we still had a lot of guys here, a lot of fans here at the games. And, you know, it's good to see the support no matter what, you know, whether we're winning or losing a championship or 0-5, whatever we were in the beginning, just it's good to see fans, you know, come out and support and just enjoy a football game and support us because that means a lot to us. So that'll be good. And for my future, you know, I still don't know, you know, I still don't know what's going to happen, but I'm always going to be a Renegade at heart. Yeah, and definitely you've earned the right to get that opportunity. I'm praying and hoping you do get it because you've definitely balled out this season for sure. Appreciate it, Alan. Thanks so much. Thank you. Hello, Luis. Hola, hola. Todo bien, todo bien. Something a little in Spanish. Luis, primero que nada, muchas felicidades. Ya platicabas, no, el tema de la entrega del anillo. ¿Pudieras compartirle a la gente ese momento, esa sensación de, pues, tener esa apreciada joya, no, que es el anillo de campeón? Sí, no, es un momento muy especial. Este es por vida ya, este equipo, bueno, el equipo de 2023 vamos a estar conectados toda la vida. Este, somos campeones. Y, o sea, es algo muy bonito. O sea, hay mucha gente que juega mucho tiempo o está en la profesión de coaching o de jugar y van 50, 60 años en el deporte y nunca ganan un campeonato. Entonces es algo muy bonito que se tiene que apreciar. Y este, no, pues es algo, es algo muy bien. Y ojalá te puedo ganar más. Lo hemos platicado y te escuchaba, no, este momento agridulce que tienes, no, porque en lo individual superas las dos mil yardas 1996. Tienes una gran actuación que hace que se hable de Luis Pérez como coreback, pero en conjunto están fuera de los playoffs. ¿Qué reflexionas, a falta de un partido evidentemente, pero qué te deja esta temporada como persona, como jugador? Sí, pues es lo que yo pensé. Este, yo trabajo muy duro en el off season. O sea, hago mucho entrenamiento todos los días. O sea, y hizo show up esta temporada. Es la primera temporada en mi carrera, este, donde regreso al mismo equipo otra vez la siguiente vez. Y el tipo de jugador que yo soy, yo soy más mental. O sea, analizar todo, las jugadas, sabérmelas bien. Y ese es mi juego. Yo no nada más hago dropback y corro y pues a ver quién está open y se la tiro. O sea, es más, es deeper como yo juego. Y es muy importante por un jugador coreback como yo poder, o sea, aprender las jugadas bien, bien y también estar comfortable con la offense y con los jugadores. Y como te dije, es la primera vez en mucho tiempo. Bueno, en mi carrera profesionalmente, la primera vez que puedo regresar al mismo equipo. Y este, pues esto me ayudó mucho también con Chuck Long. Chuck Long ha sido algo muy especial por mí. Este, como él jugó en la NFL, jugó muchos años. Este fue el Highlander, una babo Jackson, o sea, es un muy buen jugador y también entrenador. Y él me ha ayudado mucho. Luis, a mediano plazo y lo hemos platicado, no? La mente sigue estando en regresar a la NFL. Cómo vienen los planes? Has tenido algún tipo de contacto? Tu agente está buscando tener esa conexión para este mismo 2024? Si este yo le dije a mi agente que yo no quiero saber nada hasta después de la temporada. Dije yo, tú has tu trabajo, pero yo no quiero saber nada. Yo quiero enfocarme en lo que está pasando ahorita en este juego en DC y ya después del juego. Ya si quieres el momento que se acaba el juego, ya podemos platicar de lo que sigue y a ver y a ver dónde estamos. And the last one, la última en español. Estoy haciendo un artículo sobre los grandes coaches en la historia del fútbol americano. Y bueno, estando tú en Arlington en este momento, es inminente tener que hablar de los Cowboys y de Tom Landry, que representa para Luis Pérez en estas memorias que todos tenemos de un personaje como lo fue el coach Tom Landry. Si Tom Landry ganó Super Bowls, o sea, es un es un entrenador muy especial que muchos saben quién es y fue uno de los primeros entrenadores de de empezar una tradición, o sea, el estándar de de poder hacer o sea, lo más que puedas todos los días. Aquí se dice el saying be the standard, verdad? Pero pero luego el next step es que es el estándar, verdad? Y Tom Landry es un entrenador que él puso el estándar que ahorita todo el mundo lo está usando ahorita. Luis, muchísimas gracias. Sé que es complejo, no incluso a uno y quitándome el tema de periodista como amigo, como como aficionado a este deporte. Es agridulce la situación que vives. Pero bueno, una jugada a la vez, como decimos en plural americano. Thank you very much. Have a great day. Gracias, Oscar. Nos vemos. Yeah, Kayla's up next. Thank you, everyone. Oh, OK. Sorry, I won't take too much time. Hi, Luis. Thank you, Bianca. Thank you, guys. Hey, how are you? How's that? I won't do it. Well, I try to pick up a little of that. And I said it's OK, though, but not a lot. They were working on it. I'm excited to cover you guys. We haven't micro ESPN. We haven't gotten you guys our specific group. Yes. So you guys look like you have so much fun on the sidelines. I just, you know, I wanted to get your perspective on just this year. You know what you were able to accomplish last year and kind of having not a complete opposite, but just dealing with different outcome. You know, what was your what's been your mentality going from the year you had last year and now just up into this? Dealing with different results on paper, but still showing out the way you do. Yeah, it's a great question. So, you know, last year I came in through the season, as you know, came in. You know, we won a championship. So, you know, the aspirations for everybody is like, oh, shoot, man, let's just go run it back and let's go do it again. You know, and all offseason, you know, we worked very hard. You know, a lot of us got together and trained. And the goal was, hey, we're not losing the game. You know, we knew how good we were towards the end of the season last year. And, you know, when we when we started off slow, you know, it's kind of like, hey, this is not what we expected, you know. And but, yeah, you know, we just fell short here and there. You know, it's kind of been a weird dynamic this year because, you know, like if you look on paper, you know, we average more points than we give up, you know, which that's already should be a winning record, right? We have the number one turnover margin with that's that's a huge stat. Usually when you're in the plus territory, a turnover margin, I mean, you're at least 500, right? And then, you know, we lost like so many games on just like bad luck to, you know, not only just, you know, we're not executing, but also bad luck, you know. And that's frustrating. On top of that, we're number one on third down conversions, which that's another big thing. And, you know, it's kind of been a weird deal because, you know, I've had success personally, but our team hasn't. You know, we haven't done what we sought out to do. And you really can't enjoy kind of your personal success when the team is not doing well. You know, so it's kind of been a weird deal with that. I've been dealing with that, you know, and it's like, you know, we're playing some good football. We're just not winning games. You know, so throughout the season, it's like people try to reinvent the wheel and try to do all these things. But it's like, you know, we got to just stick together, you know, like let's just stick together. We're right there. We're doing a lot of great things. Let's just stick together, you know. And, you know, like you said, it's not the outcome we wanted, but, you know, we have a chance to finish strong and do, you know, a lot of, you know, meet a lot of personal goals. Well, you're hitting them, too, and it's really impressive to see, especially on the offensive side, that you guys are like top and darn near all these categories, you know, seven plus categories. It's top passing, top score. Like, so I guess what allows you to still remain as consistent in that top tier, despite all the things that maybe you personally and some some guys alongside of you like can't control? Yeah. The preparation never changes, right? And one thing that that I heard from a coach, he said the difference between being good and great is how consistently good you can be. You know, so I really took that to heart. I really took that to heart, you know, because a lot of guys can go out there and have great games. A lot of people can do that. But can you do it over and over and over and over again? That's what makes you great. So I really took that to heart to just make sure my preparation each and every week was the same, no matter what the outcome was, no matter what it is, trust the process and trust my preparation. You know, that's what really helped me this year personally. Right. On top of, you know, coming back to the same offense, the first time I've done that in my pro career ever, you know, so especially the type of player I am, being more of a cerebral type passer, you know, knowing the playbook like the back of your hand, getting used to the players, the play color. I mean, all these different things mean so much to a quarterback like me, you know, because I'm not just dropping back, running around and, you know, trying to just find guys on scramble. That's just not my game. You know, everybody has their way of the play. But it really helps me coming back here, too, because it's a player I am. But yeah, I mean. I would say, you know, the biggest thing is just my preparation. And part of my ignorance, your wife and your kids, they're in California. Is that right? No. So they're here. They're here. Oh, they are here. OK, I don't know where I read that or if that's what I wanted to confirm. So they're here. They're here. Yes. I mean, the fact what's it like having them along with the ride? I know for you, you've been and I watched your. I mean, obviously, I know who you are, but even just watching the YouTube, the getting to know you personally, just NFL, X, just all over and still constantly pursuing this and at a top tier level. One, what's it like having your family alongside of you? And what's the next step for you after this? If you thought that far, I know you have another game to play. So, yeah, I mean, my family has been so supportive. I mean, it's it's been amazing. You know, the support I've had with them being able to still pursue my dream. She knows how hard I work. I mean, she knows all the hours I put in every single day in the offseason. She knows, you know, so she understands how dedicated I am. And that's what really makes her tell me, hey, keep going. You know, she could easily be like, hey, dude, like you already tried. You're freaking seven years out. Like, come on, let's let's get into real life now, you know? But she understands that, you know, I've been right there every single time I've been top of the league, every single spring that I've been a part of. Every single time I've I've been in a spring league, you know, we've made the playoffs or been to a championship or won a championship. So this is really the first time in my career where where, you know, I haven't made the playoffs in pro football, but I've had my best season, which is, you know, again, something that's also weird, right? So, yeah, no, but it's been incredible. You know, it's hard being a really she she's like a single mom, you know, because I'm all day training and doing this and that. And, you know, she's by herself, you know, with two girls. It's not easy. You know, it's not easy for her. And the support that I have from her is amazing. I wouldn't be here without her. And what's next? You know, I'm hoping for an NFL opportunity. That's that's my goal. You know, I feel like I put enough on tape this year to be able to get a fair shot in the NFL to really, you know, compete for a roster spot in the fall because I really haven't had that. You know, I was on practice for a few weeks in 2018. Other than that, it's been all training camp. So, you know, I really want a fair opportunity to go out there and compete. I just want somebody to bring me in and just just let me work like give me time to understand what's going on. Again, I'm a cerebral type player. Let me let me come in. Let me learn the system where I can really flourish and just show you what I can do once I know the playbook. And yeah, that's that's what I'm hoping for. But if not, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens. You have put plenty on tape this year, and it's cool, too, because even though when you don't make the playoffs like I mean, I'm no NFL scout or coach, but if I am them and having been around, just listening to different gentlemen in that caliber, wanting to see how does this guy handle adversity even when, you know, things are not going his way? So, I mean, hats off to you. You know, just listen for me. I like to know this press coverage. Everyone's guarded. Who's the guy? You can only pick one guy. Are you going to go to South? Who do you go to? Man, man, that's tough. That's tough. We have a lot of great guys. Depending on the round combination, you know, but I would say my top guys are right now TV and South. You know, those two guys are consistently, you know, winning. And those guys are great. You know, I trust those guys to win against anybody. So hopefully they do a lot of that against us Sunday so we can take advantage of it. Awesome. Well, hey, thank you so much for hanging on there with me to ask. Of course, I really, really appreciate you. And congratulations to you personally this season. You've been amazing. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you all. Have a good day. Thank you, Bianca. Thank you. Appreciate you all. See you. Bye bye.