XFL Arlington Renegades

One Meeting at a Time, Luis Perez Raised the Arlington Renegades Ceiling to the XFL Championship

Published on May 10, 2023 under XFL (XFL)
Arlington Renegades News Release


Arlington Renegades wide receiver LuJuan Winningham was at dinner when new teammate Luis Perez sent a text along the lines of this: Hey guys, I'm just trying to meet real quick at 7:30.

"I said, '7:30?'" Winningham recalled. "We just got out of meetings. Does he want to go meet again and watch practice again?"

Perez was new to the Arlington team, having been acquired March 28 in a midseason trade with the Vegas Vipers. He wanted to catch up as quickly as possible and felt his teammates would be able to help him do it.

"I'm thinking this is just gonna happen like once a week maybe," Winningham said. "The very next day, 'so 7:45 again, guys.' 'Oh my god.' And it's been every single day since throughout the week."

Those meetings exemplify the leadership and attention-to-detail Perez brought to a Renegades offense that spent most of the year like a car in neutral.

But the hard work paid off in the South Division Championship against the Houston Roughnecks. With Perez at the helm, Arlington tied its season high in points for the second time in three weeks. He threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns as the Renegades pulled off the 26-11 upset.

Arlington hopes to surprise the football world a second time at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday against the D.C. Defenders in the XFL Championship at the Alamodome. The likelihood of an upset is directly tied to how well Perez plays against a stout Defenders defense.

"That's why they made the trade to come get me, right?" Perez said. "They brought me here to win a championship so hopefully we go out there and do that."

Perez opened the 2023 XFL season with the Vipers as the starting quarterback, ironically throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns in the opening game against Arlington. But he spent weeks battling Brett Hundley for the full-time starting role.

The 28-year-old quarterback - who in the last six years has spent time in the NFL, Alliance of American Football, The Spring League and USFL - said he respects the Vegas coaching staff but felt a trade was for the best.

Arlington couldn't be happier, either.

"He's a true leader," Renegades head coach Bob Stoops said. "He's a guy that kind of galvanizes everybody together. He's had an impact in the locker room as well as out on the field."

Perez finished the 2023 season fourth in the league in passing yards with 1,636 while adding nine touchdowns on a 66.5% completion percentage.

Winningham said Perez has been "amazing" since he arrived with the Renegades. He started the last three games of the regular season - plus the playoff game - and Arlington's offense became much more dynamic. The team averages six more points per game with Perez in the lineup. If you exclude the final game of the regular season, when the Renegades rested players and didn't use their full playbook, it's a 10-point difference.

"He's gonna go out there and you know what you're gonna get out of him," Winningham said. "You're gonna get a guy that wants to win every play, every snap, no matter what it is. He's gonna want to do it the right way - no matter how it looks, no matter what the score is."

D.C. knows first-hand this Arlington team is much different than the one earlier in the season. The teams played in Week 9 at Audi Field and Arlington rallied from 17 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. (D.C. won 28-26.)

That was just a few weeks after Perez started holding those nightly meetings, which he said he did because he wanted to get caught up to speed as quickly as possible. He figured the best way to do that would be to collaborate with those who have been in the system all season. The opportunity to develop relationships and trust with his new Arlington pass catchers was also a key factor.

He believes the meetings have worked as intended. Perez has a much better understanding of the offense and he's grown closer with his teammates.

"It's one of those things that just slowly progressed," Perez said. "Since I got here, every week - I don't even know what week I'm on here - from every single day, meeting and then just slowly getting to know one another."

Winningham, who admits that he didn't like the meetings at first, agrees.

The chemistry built in the hotel rooms this XFL season cannot be ignored, and Perez's meetings are the latest example. But it goes beyond that, too. Winningham said Perez is the type of teammate other players will carve out free time to help.

"He wants to win. You can't be mad at that," Winningham said. "I'd love to be on a team with any guy like that."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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