Corey Liuget slims down to step up

A package arrived in the mail Wednesday for Corey Liuget.

He laughed upon opening it.

Lemon cookies, a whole boxful, came courtesy of former teammate Cam Thomas. The Steelers nose tackle sent them, fully aware the Chargers defensive end has lost weight this past month and plans to continue doing so.

"He knows I can't resist them," Liuget said. "I love them."

Desserts aside, Liuget has done well. He said last month in the locker room that he wanted to lose weight. On Wednesday, he reported having dropped 12 pounds, down to 304. The Miami native returns home this weekend for the Chargers' game Sunday against the Dolphins.

Liuget, 24, weighed 302 pounds at the start of the season. He cited no reason for the increase.

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"It crept up to 316 at some point," he said. "I don't know how ... that happened."

He looks like light on his feet now.

Last Thursday, late in the second quarter against the Broncos, he crouched in a three-point stance, shaded off the right shoulder of center Manuel Ramirez in the nickel package. Liuget shot right at the snap as quarterback Peyton Manning dumped a short pass to running back Ronnie Hillman over the middle. Hillman, at one point about 15 yards from Liuget, cut horizontally to evade linebacker Andrew Gachkar while Liuget peeled back in pursuit, pulling down Hillman from behind to contain an 8-yard gain.

Outside linebacker Dwight Freeney called it a "prime example of the motor he has."

"Not many guys can make that play," Freeney added. "It's not going to show up on the stat sheet as anything more than a tackle, but impressive? Yes. Very impressive. Teams see that and know that they've got to work him because he's going to give it his all. ... Corey is rare in the sense of you've got a guy with that type of size who can run that fast. He's going to find you."

Or he'll try.

In the fourth quarter, safety Eric Weddle intercepted Manning. There Liuget went, sprinting along the alley near the sideline, looking for someone to block.

He averages 46 defensive snaps a game. Fellow end Kendall Reyes is right there with him, averaging 45.5 and also showing good effort in pursuit.

"He plays the game a certain way, and I think when you see players playing that way, good things are going to happen," coach Mike McCoy said. "It's every snap. That's something we try to emphasize to everybody is that all-out effort. ... Jarret Johnson plays the same way every play; it doesn't matter where the ball is. That's something John Pagano and his staff, really as a whole football team emphasize, ... so when everyone turns on our film here, they see the way everyone is playing."

To lose weight, Liuget monitored his portions but otherwise made minimal changes in diet.

Extra cardio and more time in the sauna, he said, accounted for the weight loss. He hopes to lose an additional seven pounds, which would put him at 297, nearly 20 pounds lighter than he was last month, while becoming a more consistent player in his fourth season.

Sunday marks his second game in his hometown in as many years.

In 2013, he had what he called "one of my worst games," being flagged for roughing quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the second quarter. The play negated a fumble the Chargers recovered to extended a drive that ended with a Dolphins touchdown. Miami won 20-16.

"I'm ready to go play these guys again," Liuget said.