On and off the football field, King Liggins has made history.

The Brother Rice senior defensive lineman recently helped steer his team to a shutout victory over St. Rita and claim the Class 7A state championship, the program’s first state championship since 1981. Within that same week, Liggins finalized his commitment to play at Illinois during the Early Signing Period for Division I athletes.

“I chose Illinois because of the family atmosphere,” Liggins said. “It’s the place that can get me to the level I want to reach, which is the NFL. I feel I can develop the most there. I want to bring the juice and be what I need to be for them to be successful. I feel like I can motivate guys around me by how I play. I’m aggressive and outgoing and I can rally people and change a game that way.”

Winning Brother Rice’s first state football championship in over four decades is a rare enough achievement. Even more impressive, however, is that Liggins will graduate from high school early and head to Champaign to start his collegiate career in January. Liggins will become the first Crusader football player to graduate early.

“It was probably one of the greatest feelings,” Liggins said when asked about his team’s state championship victory. “Seeing all of my teammates after the game and all of the coaches hugging each other... Being able to be a leader of that was a great feeling. I knew all of the work we put into it. We grinded on scout team and we all wanted the best out of each other, so it was a great feeling.”

A three-star prospect and one of the top defensive line prospects in the state, Liggins concluded his varsity career with 120 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Liggins, who wrestled at Brother Rice for two years, played three years of varsity football, becoming a team captain as a junior. A two-time All-CCL/ESCC award winner, Liggins aided the Crusader defense in four shutouts this season.

“King’s a dedicated kid because of his parents,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “What he’s brought to us and what we’re going to miss is his leadership. Illinois is very lucky to have a kid who will be a program guy and will 100% be a captain at some point in time. They’re getting a leader and they’re getting a guy who’s going to work. He’s not afraid to work or be coached.”

Coinciding with Liggins’ development as a leader was Brother Rice’s development as a program. During his sophomore season, the team went 5-5 and lost 46-0 to Batavia in the playoffs. During his junior season, Brother Rice improved to 6-4, but the team once again fell in the first round of the playoffs, conceding a loss against Fenwick.

As a senior, Liggins made up part of a dominant defensive line that collectively won the CCL/ESCC Blue Division’s Lineman of the Year award, a commemoration of the group’s stellar play this season. Brother Rice went 13-1 on the season, holding opponents to 14.4 points per game and tying the team’s best win total in seven years.

“Our mentality is bend, don’t break,” Liggins said. “Even if someone drives the ball down, they’re not scoring on us... Our defense is like a brotherhood and you’re held to a higher standard if you’re on our defense. Once you’re a part of that, you know that nobody is going to score on you because you’re playing for the brother beside you.”

This year, Liggins was given Brother Rice’s No. 1 jersey, a special honor emblemizing his leadership and commitment. But rather than wearing the No. 1 uniform, Liggins bestowed it upon a student named Parker Baudo, a sophomore and team manager. Baudo is a member of the school’s Mount Sion Program, a special education inclusion program at Brother Rice. Liggins is Baudo’s peer mentor.

“[King] was a captain when he was on the freshman squad and as a sophomore, he was up with the varsity team and learning how to do things,” Quedenfeld said. “He was given the No. 1 jersey, which is the most notable thing in our program right now. He dedicated that to someone in the Mount Sion Program... He did that on his own.”

Liggins began wrestling and playing football when he was 6 years old. The Brother Rice senior, who grew up in Crete about 30 miles from school, was inspired by his father Derrick, a football player at Thornwood in South Holland, to take up football and wrestling as a child. While his focus has shifted to the gridiron, Liggins said that lessons learned from wrestling have helped him grow in football.

“Wrestling is a rough, nasty sport and he felt like I needed that to become a better football player,” Liggins said. “The practices are really hard in wrestling. Having that mentality and bringing it onto the football field helps me a lot... My dad was a really good football player in high school and he got me into it when I was young. I’ve loved football ever since I stepped foot onto the football field.”

Once a center at the youth level, Liggins has learned to love playing defensive tackle, now his favorite position on the field. An admirer of star NFL defensive linemen like Maxx Crosby and Aaron Donald, Liggins said the freedom and aggression that comes from playing defense are just a few of his favorite aspects about the position. His biggest role models are his parents, Derrick and Archana.

“I feel like I can sometimes freestyle a bit and I have to use my hands and be aggressive,” Liggins said. “I don’t ever stop. I try to bring my best every day and take advantage of every day. I’m a great person and outside of football, I think there’s more to me than just being a football player. I’m more of an outgoing person.”