It has been as good of a start for the Dallas Renegades as they could have asked for as they are 2-0 going into Week 3 against the Columbus Aviators.
The Renegades have the number one offense in the league as they are averaging 377 yards per game and two straight games with 30 or more points. They have dominated the St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Gamblers in the first two weeks, beating both teams by double digits.
Now as the team enters a short week of preparation against the Aviators, UFL News Hub stopped by practice to chat with Renegades head coach Rick Neuheisel, cornerback Shaun Wade, and quarterback Austin Reed to discuss their upcoming matchup and more.
Preparation for Aviators on short week
Neuheisel has not been fazed by having uneven weeks to prepare from having over a week to get ready for Houston and St. Louis. For the had coach, they have a plan in place to get ready for Columbus and he's even seeing it as an advantage for them as well.
"Well, it's an interesting week because you got a crash course, right? The convenient thing is that we're playing the same team the next two weeks. So what we plan, assuming that they stick to what they do or have reasonable facsimile of what they do, is that plan will carry over because we didn't have another five-day turnaround. But that's the, that's the life we choose, right? It's the pro football model."
From a player's perspective, Reed is actually embracing the moment of having the short week. He sees it as a good thing to show the NFL since they have short weeks as well there.
Yeah, I mean, it's cool. We're enjoying it. Again, like everybody's aspirations is to get back to the league and this is essentially like playing a Thursday night game in the NFL. So it's a great opportunity to prove to teams that you can do that. But more than that, like it's just another chance to play a game and we're just excited all play another game. So for all of us, we're like, hey, let's just dial in, make sure we're locked in for, uh, for what we got to do on Sunday. And we're all enjoying the challenge that's coming.
Wade added what he and the defense has been doing to get ready for this game. It's more about the mental game versus the physical game.
"You got to just be mentally sharp, study the game when you have time, which we all have time. We're about to go home now and just be in your playbook, watch film, and make sure your mind is sharp and you're grasping that playbook for this week."
What Renegades have seen out of Columbus going into Week 3
Columbus is entering the game at 0-2 after losses to the Orlando Storm and DC Defenders to start the season. Neuheisel knows this Aviators team is going to come in ready to play desperate football.
"They're talented. I mean, they've been right there, but you have to remember DC was coming off a very frustrating game against St. Louis, so they were a very motivated team. Looks like Teddy's having fun. Todd Haley is a former head coach in the NFL, so he's got all kinds of tricks up his sleeve. We'll see more of them this week. And Captain Munnerlyn is a proven vet and he's had four extra days to fix whatever it is that might be broken. So I'm expecting an all-out effort."
The Aviators have some top weapons in the passing game like wide receiver Tay Martin with quarterback Jalan McClendon showing that he can get it done on the ground as well. Wade talked about what he has seen in Columbus' offense on tape.
Columbus got a good team. They got some great receivers out there. The quarterback is very, very different from the first two quarterbacks we played. He can scramble. They got some great running backs from what I've seen. So it's gonna be a good game. We're looking forward to playing them this Sunday and it's gonna be a great atmosphere out there. So I just can't wait.
Renegades players talk individual performances
Reed has taken the league by storm with leading the UFL in passing yards with 672 yards and six touchdowns to one interception. He's coming off a four-touchdown performance in the win against the Battlehawks as he shared with UFL News Hub what he saw from himself in the game.
"There's still so much with the timing, like, and with my feet that can be better. So I'm trying to just continue improving my feet and improving my eyes, like making sure I'm not skipping certain reads and just jumping to like the third read when I didn't read the second read. So things like that, there's so much improvement still available, which like after I told you guys after Week 1 is so good because, you know, like for us, like we don't want to be playing our very best football right now. You know, we want to be continually improving through the year. So it's exciting to be like, all right, we still got room to improve as an offense. And especially me as the guy up front."
Wade has quietly had a strong 2026 campaign in his first season in the UFL. He has had an interception in each of the first two games of the year, but for him, he's got short term memory about it.
"It feels great, but that's in the past now. I was on Columbus."
Bonus: Rick Neuheisel on surprise moment from Renegades practice
There was a moment in practice that fans had to be there to believe: The Spring King himself Luis Perez actually caught a pass on a real route in the back of the end zone with just one hand. The moment caused the team to lose their minds and celebrate with their veteran quarterback. UFL News Hub had to ask Neuheisel about the moment and whether he would play Perez at other positions as the coach wanted to make sure he gave his praise to his backup quarterback.
"That's where the crowd went crazy. The spring king showing his versatility."
"It has crossed my mind (regarding playing him at different positions jokingly), but Luis is going to get to play some quarterback here and he's ready. You know, one of the things that NFL people look at when you're going into a camp and having to come off the bench is, can you, right? So if all of a sudden he's thrust into the action and can pick up the thing seamlessly and give the offense a jolt, all of a sudden, hey, that's the kind of guy we're looking for. He's certainly intelligent enough, and, and his attitude's been fantastic."
The Renegades will face the Aviators on Sunday at 11:00 am CST on ABC.