By Sean McDevitt
FightingIllini.com

As we near the grand opening of the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center, the DIA is acknowledging and celebrating all those donors who made the project possible with special gifts to the many amenitites the building will offer Fighting Illini football players.

In this story, we honor the $250,000 gift from former Illinois football letterwinner Corey Liuget for the Corey Liuget Players Lounge.

Corey Liuget is a monster on the football field. The 6' 2" and 300-pound defensive tackle is the bane of opposing quarterbacks as he attacks the line looking for any weakness. Off the field, he's a supportive husband and father raising his three children.

And making sure he's giving back.

His collegiate career at Illinois includes a stat line of 125 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2010, ranks fifth in Big Ten fumbles recovered and was Team Captain. Leaving school early, he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and has spent the past eight years playing professional football.

Looking back on his college career, his favorite memories were just being a student-athlete.

"The athlete part is always great, but being a student in Champaign-Urbana... it was by far one of the best experiences I've ever had," he said. "The college atmosphere was so much fun. I miss Homecoming. I miss Cotton Club weekend, I miss those things that were a big deal in college."

Hard Work and Horseshoe

Camaraderie and culture are important to Liuget. It was challenging his first two seasons at Illinois because the team worked hard to make a bowl game and came up short. He said the workouts and adjusting to the college game came naturally, but missing bowl eligibility was disappointing.

"The University of Illinois shaped me to be a hard worker and showed me how important it is to stay on track and to achieve your goals," he said. "Whatever it is you want in life."

His days at Illinois opened his eyes to a wider world.

"I came from Miami. I'm a city boy. In Champaign, I got to see another culture, hang around different people and see how they do things," he added. "I never played bags before and I never ate a brat until I got to the University of Illinois. Where I'm from we eat hot dogs and hamburgers and we play horseshoe."

Rendering of the 4,111 square foot Corey Liuget Player's Lounge at the Smith Football Center

Giving Back

Liuget and his wife, Faven, are the parents of three children. The oldest, Corey Jr., was born with a serious heart defect and had surgery at just six weeks old. Today, he's happy and healthy spending time with his sisters. Because of his experience, Liuget works with the American Heart Association to help raise money and awareness.

Last holiday season, even with a season-ending injury, he took children from the American Heart Association to dinner and toy shopping. It was his wife and mother, Lorene, who instilled him a sense to give back.

"My wife is big on giving back," Liuget said. "She's from Ethiopia, so she's very huge on giving back and helping others out when you're a little more fortunate than most."

Become the Best

After hearing about Illini Director of Athletics Josh Whitman's plans for the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center, he knew he wanted to be a part and putting his name on the Players' Lounge made the most sense.

"When you bring guys in to recruit them, the facility is very important," he said. "Once they see the Liuget name on the plaque, they're like, 'Oh this guy was a first-round pick.' It's those things that let kids know that the University of Illinois does produce great athletes.

"That's why I chose to put my name on the Players' Lounge. Because when you're recruiting a guy, you want them to know that we have football traditions. We are the University of Illinois and we have guys in the NFL and first round picks."

Liuget says he's excited about the future of Illinois football, and can't wait for the Fighting Illini football team to get into the new facility.

"Seeing these young guys being able to get this facility … it means a lot. We had a nice locker room, but this is state-of-the-art. It gives you that boost of confidence like 'Oh I'm coming to play football here. I want to be here because I want to do my best.' When you become the best, you get the best and when you get the best, it just gives you a little bit more."

And Liuget would know.