San Diego taps Illinois defensive tackle Liuget
San Diego general manager A.J. Smith now owns the Land of Lincoln triple crown.
In 2005, Smith selected Northwestern defensive tackle Luis Castillo with the Chargers’ first pick. In 2009, he went with Northern Illinois defensive end Larry English in the first round.
With just one in-state Football Bowl Subdivision program left to hit, the silver-haired Smith grabbed Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget with the No. 18 pick Thursday night.
“Great stamina. Absolutely physical,” Smith told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Mean little nasty streak that we like, too. Relentless.”
The 6-foot-2, 298-pound Liuget didn’t look any of those things when he strode on the Radio City Music Hall stage after his selection.
A beaming Liuget, the seventh of 12 defensive linemen to go in the first round, engulfed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a lengthy bear hug before posing with his new team’s uniform.
Clearly his decision to leave Illinois a year early paid off.
An Illini player hadn’t gone so early in the draft since Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice went 2-3 in 1996.
Liuget joins a veteran defensive line that helped the Chargers finish first in the NFL in yards allowed (271.6 ypg) in 2010, but San Diego missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.
While Liuget was viewed as the perfect 3-technique tackle in a 4-3 defense, Smith told reporters he’ll play defensive end in the Chargers’ 3-4 scheme.
That suggests that Liuget and Castillo will serve as bookends up front for San Diego this fall.
The Chargers’ current left end, 30-year-old Jacques Cesaire, started every game last year but produced just 1.5 sacks.
“We just think (Liuget) is going to bring physical play to it,” Smith said. “He’s got an attacking style to him.”
It didn’t take long for one of Liuget’s new linemates to celebrate his selection.
Moments after Liuget’s selection was announced, veteran nose tackle Antonio Garay tweeted, “Congrats @COREYLIUGET!! Welcome to the fam...The Chain Gang...the chains don’t move unless we say they do!”
Liuget delivered 4.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries — all of them team-highs — to earn second-team all-Big Ten honors in 2010.
Illinois inside linebacker Martez Wilson and running back Mikel Leshoure, the program’s other two early-entry candidates, should be picked tonight when the NFL conducts the second and third rounds.