Fulfilling A Dream: Will Perez

By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

A younger Will Perez always had aspirations of being a defensive player in the Ivy League. A native of nearby Caldwell, N.J., he trained and played year-round with the goal of being an Ivy athlete.

A lacrosse athlete, specifically.

Perez was a long-stick midfielder and defender, and he saw lacrosse as his path to college sports. Then came a growth spurt prior to his sophomore year that pushed him to six feet and opened the door to the sport he was truly passionate about — football.

"Ever since I was in eighth grade, I always wanted to play something in the Ivy League, whether it was football or lacrosse," said Perez, an all-state player for both sports at West Essex High School. "I always had my mind set on a couple different Ivy schools. I was realistic with myself. If I come to an Ivy school to play football, maybe I won't make it to the NFL, but there are opportunities to play football at a great school like this."

This, of course, is Princeton, but it took extra effort to get here. Other Ivies offered Perez early, but the Princeton one didn't come until after he competed in a summer camp following his junior season. He made connections with the coaches and showed the ability to play multiple positions, at least in the Tiger coaches' minds.

"Princeton was my most difficult offer to get," he said. "What solidified my connection here was the coaches. They talked about moving me to outside linebacker, which fit my build more. They saw an opportunity in me, and they were the only school that recruited me as a linebacker. They had a vision for me. They had a plan."

That plan has paid off significantly.

Perez didn't many varsity snaps early in his career, mainly because he had a Bushnell Cup winner in Jeremiah Tyler sharing his position. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, though, he soaked up everything he could.

"Having somebody like that to look up to and see how they performed day in and day out was massively beneficial," Perez said. "He would trust his instincts and reactions. I followed his approach to the game, his intensity, how he studied film, and the passion for how he played the game. JT has a lot of things in his game that you can't teach, but I tried to learn as much as I possibly could."

Perez did impress the coaches enough to get on special teams early in his career, which is often a good indicator for more playing time as an upperclassman. Those limited varsity snaps as a freshman in 2019 served as a constant motivator to work through the COVID pandemic, and by the time he was a sophomore in 2021, he played in almost every game of an Ivy championship season.

His work continued into his junior season, when Tyler's graduation opened up greater opportunities. Perez made 36 tackles last season, including nine in a win over Brown, and he added seven breakups and an interception.

"Seeing Will develop from a scout team player to special teams stalwart to very good starter to outstanding player and leader has been so fulfilling as a coach," head coach Bob Surace said. "His work ethic is exceptional. He has made a jump each year athletically and he is one of our smartest players in recent years. Even better, as much as I compliment him for his on-field accomplishments, he is even better off the field."

Perez views himself as a player who can be there for any teammate, and for any reason, off the field. However, time off the field also served as an ultimate offseason motivator. Late-season injuries kept him on the sidelines for the final two games of 2022, and Perez had no plans of letting that happen again during his senior year. Beyond his standard training, he added stretching, pilates and yoga to have his body fully ready for the season-long grind.

Through four games, the results are encouraging. He is averaging 5.5 tackles per game, third most on a defense that ranks either first or second in the Ivy League in almost every statistical category. He has 3.5 tackles for loss, tied for ninth most in the league, and he forced a turnover against Bryant.

Princeton hasn't allowed more than 16 points in a game this season, and yet the Tigers enter the heart of their Ivy League season with a 2-2 record. That could fracture some locker rooms, but this defense has the highest of expectations of itself, so it has only focused on its own growth.

"We're the ones letting up points, so we have to look at ourselves in the mirror after the game," Perez said. "Our coaches tell us that anything the offense gets on us is self-inflicted. Whether it's a touchdown, a first down or just five yards, somebody on our defense didn't do our job. We take that mindset and we run with it."

Perez has run all the way from fighting just to get to Princeton, to fighting for playing time, to now fighting as one of its leaders for an Ivy League title. He is a key member of a senior linebacking corps that leads the defense — and arguably the whole team — and he has no plans to stop running now.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Will Perez

Princeton University Athletics

Upcoming Events

Recent Results