ARLINGTON, Texas — Luis Perez was like a lot of young boys. His dream was to be an NFL quarterback. He remembers sleeping with a football when he was little.
But the path that he hopes will take him to the NFL one day — even at 30 years old — is unlike any other and has little to do with him being the starting quarterback for the UFL’s Arlington Renegades or an alum of The Spring League, the USFL, the Alliance of American Football and the original XFL.
That path was so unbelievable that Perez wrote an autobiography, “The Spring King,” which was released last week. The title is an nod to the nickname he was given for his success in the spring professional leagues.
“I just feel like I’d do a disservice to people out there if I don’t share my story and everything I went through,” said Perez, whose Renegades (1-0) play the Houston Roughnecks (0-1) on Sunday (noon ET, ESPN/ESPN+). “I keep thinking it can positively impact a lot of people and change lives.”
Renegades tight end Sal Cannella has been Perez’s teammate for the last three years. Even though he knows Perez’s background, he still can’t comprehend it.
“It seems like it’s going to turn into a Netflix documentary or something at one point,” Cannella said. “It’s got to. It’s just one of those stories that almost feels like fiction, you know, where you couldn’t believe it. But the fact that it is real just makes you respect him even more.”
PEREZ PLAYED SOME quarterback growing up in youth football, but he was also a tight end and offensive lineman. He never played varsity football at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista, California. Instead, he was an accomplished bowler. He had 12 perfect games. He could have gone to college on a bowling scholarship.
As he watched his friends play their last high school football game, it reignited his quarterback dream.
“I knew I could always go back to bowling,” Perez said. “It’s like riding a bike. You can bowl when you’re 50, 60 years old. Your window to make it to the NFL is so small. You can’t wait on that dream.”
He went to YouTube to learn how to play quarterback. Yes, YouTube.
“I don’t know a quarterback coach, I don’t know how to even get ahold of these people, so I’m like, ‘Let me get on YouTube,’ and I started watching basic fundamental tutorials,” Perez said. “All I knew is I could throw a nice spiral and I had a big arm. That’s it.”
For hours he would watch highlights of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady. He bought a full-length mirror to make sure his form was like theirs. He would practice taking five-step drops in his bedroom.
He did that for four or five months when he hooked up with Akili Smith, the former No. 3 overall pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1999 who had become a quarterback trainer.
“After that time with Akili, I was like, ‘Hey, what do I do from now on? I want to become an NFL quarterback, guide me where to go,'” Perez said.
SMITH TOLD HIM about Southwestern College, a junior college in Chula Vista. Perez remembers walking into coach Ed Carberry’s office and saying he was going to be his starting quarterback.
“Where did you play? Where’s your tape?” he said Carberry asked him.
When Perez told him he did not play high school football, Carberry laughed.
“He said, ‘Practice is at so and so a time. It’s junior college so I can’t cut you, but you can come and try out,'” Perez said. “That’s how it started.”
When he showed up for the first practice, he was the ninth quarterback on the depth chart.
“I’m the first one there, last one to leave, and I’m not getting any reps to try and learn the plays,” he said.
With players leaving school or choosing other sports, he moved up to No. 4 on the list. In fall camp, he won the backup spot. In the fourth game of the season, starter Frank Foster suffered a shoulder injury, forcing Perez into the game. He threw a touchdown pass in Southwestern’s win.
In the perfect script, he would have been the starter for good.
“Oh, no, no, no. There’s more to it,” Perez said.
Of course.
He suffered a broken leg a few games later and missed the rest of the season. He would not be able to get back on the field until summer camp. By then Tofi Paopao, a star at Oceanside High School before attending Florida International, transferred into Southwestern, and would be the starter. Paopao got hurt and Perez took over as the starter. He finished the season with 18 touchdown passes and three interceptions, splitting time with Paopao.
But there were no scholarship offers when the season ended until a last-minute offer from UC-Davis. But that was pulled after they told him he did not have a transferrable math class from Southwestern.
Devastated, Perez took to the internet again. He checked to see if Division II quarterbacks have made it to the NFL. He found the name Dustin Vaughan, who starred at West Texas A&M and spent time with the Cowboys. Colby Carthel was an assistant at West Texas A&M and took over the job at Texas A&M Commerce, so he called Carthel.
THE COACHES WENT to California to see Perez work out and offered him a scholarship. He redshirted his first year and became the starter for two seasons. In 2016, he set a school record for touchdown passes (32) and took Commerce to the Division II playoffs where they lost to Grand Valley State in the semifinals.
In his final season, the Lions won the national championship. He threw for 5,001 yards and had 46 touchdown passes. He won the Harlon Hill Trophy winner, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
He played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, winning the starting job over Michigan’s John O’Korn and TCU’s Kenny Hill, but he did not have an invitation to the NFL combine. He threw at Texas A&M’s pro day with Johnny Manziel as the former Heisman Trophy winner was attempting a comeback.
“I get to throw against a first-round pick, and they can see what I’m like,” Perez said. “That put me on the map.”
But he would not get drafted. Two weeks later, he did not even have an invite to a rookie camp when the Los Angeles Rams called. A quarterback backed out of their camp.
“I go throw and I kill it,” Perez said. “I probably had one of the best throwing days I’ve had. And I remember Les Snead, the GM, he brings me in and tells me, ‘You really impressed me. We’re going to sign you.’ And that was my opportunity.”
Five years after starting his journey on YouTube, Perez was an NFL quarterback — for about four months. He was cut by the Rams at the end of training camp. Two weeks into the season, he was released from the practice squad.
Since then, Perez has had brief stops with other teams: the Philadelphia Eagles for three weeks in the spring of 2019 and four days with the Detroit Lions later that summer. In 2022, he had another run with the Rams that ended during training camp.
Last summer, after leading the UFL in passing yards and touchdowns, he was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers. He played the second half of the second preseason game but was among their final cuts after the Chargers traded for Taylor Heinicke.
“I mean you’re that close, but you try not to dwell on the adversity,” Perez said. “Five or six years ago, I would’ve been devastated. That’s my hometown team. Now? It’s like, ‘OK, I didn’t make it, what am I going to do to be better so I can make it the next time?’ That’s just my mindset.”
SPRING FOOTBALL HAS kept his NFL dream alive.
He can recite his resume year by year.
Birmingham in the AAF in 2019. Los Angeles Wildcats in the original XFL and traded to the New York Guardians before the league shut down for COVID in 2020. The Spring League in 2021, winning the Mega Bowl with the Jousters.
In 2022, he played for the USFL’s New Jersey Generals. The following year it was back to the XFL with the Vegas Vipers before he was traded to the Renegades.
He led the Renegades to an XFL championship.
“We weren’t a real cohesive team, and we were struggling before we got him with four games to go, and he really galvanized our football team,” Arlington offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. “He brought everybody together, got everybody on the same page and brought a lot of positive energy and took us to a championship.”
Long was runner-up to Bo Jackson for the Heisman Trophy in 1985 as Iowa’s quarterback. He was a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions. He coached Josh White to a Heisman Trophy and Josh Heupel to a national championship at Oklahoma. For the past three seasons, he has reunited with coach Bob Stoops in Arlington.
“It’s the most unique quarterback story I’ve ever heard,” Long said of Perez’s journey. “And I’ve heard a lot of them. … He’s really strong willed and he’s just willed himself to success in learning the game of football.”
Cannella has had a similar professional path as Perez. He became aware of him when they played against each other in The Spring League. In between short runs with a handful of NFL teams, Cannella has also played in the XFL, USFL and UFL.
Last year, he led UFL tight ends in catches (53), yards (497) and touchdowns (six) with Perez as his quarterback. It earned him a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was among their final cuts last summer.
“He’s probably the smartest quarterback I’ve ever played with,” Cannella said. “Just from how he prepares, being with him every day, seeing how he analyzes the game, his day-to-day work ethic, reading defenses, why he’s choosing this side of the (route) concept to the other, it’s really impressive.”
Perez turns 31 in August. He and his wife, Brenda, have two children. He knows people think the odds are against him, but he will not stop.
“Every year I ask myself, ‘Do I enjoy getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning? Do I enjoy working out, training? Yes. Am I still playing at a high level? Yes. Am I injured? No,” Perez said. “So I’m good. So I’m just going to continue to keep playing. My goal is to go to the NFL. I’m not just doing it for the fun of it. Obviously, it is fun to me, but my goal is to go to the NFL and provide for my family a better life. And, yeah, that’s kind of where it’s at.”
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