Corey Devon Liuget (born March 18, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and was drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the first round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

College career

During his three-year Illinois career, Liuget had 125 tackles, 25.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks Liuget had a career year in 2010, earning Second-team All-Big Ten accolades after recording 63 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries and three passes broken up. In 2009, he played in all 12 games, making four starts. In 2008, he ranked fifth in the Big Ten in fumbles recovered and played in 11 games and started two at defensive tackle as a true-freshman. After his junior season, Liuget announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the

Professional career

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

Liuget was drafted in the first round as the 18th draft pick by the

. In his rookie season, Liuget played in 15 games, including 13 starts, and recorded 19 total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. The team's first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Liuget had to grow up in a hurry as the NFL Lockout wiped out what would have been his first offseason. Instead of working out with teammates and studying with coaches, Liuget was forced to work alone. When the lockout ended and the season rolled around, injuries hammered the Chargers’ defensive line and the young

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

was pressed into immediate duty. Liuget ended up playing in 15 games with 13 starts. In 2012, Liuget had a breakout season: the 2nd year man started all 16 games and had a tremendous impact on the Chargers defense. Liuget went on to lead San Diego's defensive line in sacks (7), tackles (61), tackles for loss (15) and passes defended (9) in 2012, and his nine passes defended were second in the NFL among defensive linemen behind Houston's

J. J. Watt Justin James Watt (born March 22, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan and Wisconsin and was drafted by the Houston Texans i ...

’s 15. Liuget’s improved conditioning also contributed to a strong finish to the season as he tallied five sacks in the team’s last six games, including a career-high two in the Chargers’ December 23 win over the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. At the end of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, he was named Chargers Defensive Player of Year (David Griggs Memorial Award). He was also on

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

's All-Joe team. In 2013, Liuget went on to lead the defense with 5.5 sacks. He also added 42 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1 field goal blocked, and a forced fumble. In the 2014 season, Liuget got his first NFL touchdown against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

after recovering a fumble forced by

Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney (born February 19, 1980) is an American former football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse University, ...

and

Ricardo Mathews Ricardo Eugene Mathews (born July 30, 1987) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football at Cincinnati. He also played for the H ...

. Liuget finished the season with 4.5 sacks 57 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles. Liuget signed a five-year, $58.5 million extension with the Chargers, with $30 million guaranteed on June 9, 2015. On December 12, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve. On March 23, 2018, Liuget was suspended four games due to a PED violation. In Week 11, Liuget suffered a torn quad tendon and was ruled out for the season. He was placed on injured reserve on November 21, 2018. On February 13, 2019, the Chargers declined the option on Liuget's contract, making him a free agent.

Oakland Raiders

On August 25, 2019, Liuget signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He was released on October 30, 2019.

Buffalo Bills

On November 5, 2019, Liuget was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Houston Texans

On September 28, 2020, Liuget was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7, November 14, and November 25 for the team's weeks 9, 10, and 12 games against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on December 2, 2020. Liuget was waived on December 21, 2020.

Retirement

On October 22, 2022, Liuget signed a one day contract to retire as a member of the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

NFL statistics

Personal life

Liuget is of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an descent. He was raised by his mother, as his father was killed when he went back to visit his grandmother in Haiti.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liuget, Corey 1990 births Living people American sportspeople of Haitian descent Players of American football from Miami American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Illinois Fighting Illini football players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Oakland Raiders players Buffalo Bills players Houston Texans players Hialeah Senior High School alumni