It's been quite a whirlwind of a week for Luis Perez.
The quarterback has had to learn quickly since joining the Bolts on August 6 and only had two practices under his belt entering Saturday's preseason opener.
But the 29-year-old Chula Vista native continues to work his way up to speed, all while living out a special opportunity for him and his family.
"It's awesome. I grew up a Charger fan my whole life so being able to be here and wear the Chargers uniform, it's a great feeling," Perez said Tuesday after practice. "Not only for myself, but for my family.
Perez added: "I'm just happy to be here, grateful and ready to keep learning."
The quick turnaround for Perez was something he took in stride as he worked hard at trying to learn the playbook in a couple of days before the first preseason game.
He compared this experience to a much-enhanced version of playing in the spring leagues — where teams also have limited time to prepare — while also praising the coaching staff for helping him nonstop since joining.
"Yeah, just enhanced times 10 because I only had two practices and then played," Perez said. "The coaches did a great job helping me, staying after and giving me stuff that I was comfortable with. They didn't go out and give me stuff right before or stuff I wasn't comfortable with."
Perez led the Chargers with 61 passing yards including a long pass of 36 to rookie Jaylen Johnson down the right side in his debut game.
And he keeps chipping away at it, as Chargers coaches have praised the quarterback and his approach over the last week.
"He's in here late every day trying to pick it up," Chargers Offensive Coordinator Roman said Tuesday. "Ended up going out there and doing a pretty good job. He's got a lot to learn, a lot to catch up on. He's sprinting to do it and really feels the sense of urgency. Been really impressed by that."
Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday: "For a guy who's been here [since Tuesday], pretty outstanding. Now we want more. But he's attacking it. He's here early, staying late. Doing everything in his power."
Perez has been able to learn quite a bit from Harbaugh in just a short time here.
Having a former quarterback as a coach is something he's enjoyed quite a bit, listening to the advice and tips his head coach has offered him.
"I would say he's very hands on, and I really like that about him," Perez said. "Him, obviously, playing quarterback at such a high level, any knowledge I could get, any nuggets I can get is huge. He's constantly sharing stuff with us.
"One little thing we could get a day, once we stack those, we become better football players," Perez said.
He also credited quarterbacks coach Shane Day and the rest of the signal callers who have been open and available to help in every way possible.
"He's unbelievable. He takes so much time out of his day to just teach me the offense and go out there and the intricacies within each play," Perez said about Day. "Because playing quarterback is not that easy, so you have to make sure that you're detailed in everything that you do. He's very detailed and he's trying to pass all that on to me."
Perez added about the quarterback room: "They've been awesome. All of them, Max [Duggan], Easton [Stick], Justin [Herbert]. Anytime I have a question or anything like that, I'll go to them and they'll answer it, just talking through stuff I have questions on."
The Bolts second preseason game against the Rams will kickoff Saturday at 4:05 p.m. (PT) at SoFi Stadium.
