Dan Motuliak

Daniel Evan Motuliak (Born: May 2, 1986 in Lafayette, Indiana) is a football player for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. In 2004 Motuliak was considered a top recruit for the offensive line at the University of Illinois.

Personal

He is the son of Mark and Kim Motuliak. Motuliak graduated from Jefferson High School with honors in 2004.

High school career

At Jefferson H.S., Motuliak was a two-time All-Conference performer. He made 100 tackles as a senior and was Prep-Star All-Region selection. He was listed as a two-star recruit and received scholarship offers from Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Michigan. He eventually settled on University of Illinois due to the courtship of then coach Ron Turner. He committed on July 8, 2003, resulting in many fans in the Illini Nation to recognize this date as "Dan Motuliak Day."

College career

Dan began his Illini football career in August of 2004. Matt Maddox quickly took Motuliak under his wing and groomed him into the same type of tenacious player that Maddox was notorious for being. Motuliak spent his freshman year in Van Doren dormatory, in close proximity to the Illini training facility. Thus, it is no secret as to how he developed the work ethic and physical frame necessary to achieve football fame. Motuliak red shirted his freshman year and devoted himself modeling his game after Nebraska football great Richie Incognito. He has seen significant playing time in games against San Jose St., Eastern Illinois, and Western Illinois. He was thrilled to defeat his home-state University and Illini rival Indiana during his junior season. Motuliak burst onto the national scene on October 6, 2007 when the jump start Illini had an upset defeat of national #5 Wisconsin Badgers. Motuliak was depicted celebrating with all of his fans in the stands of Memorial Stadium on the front page of ESPN.com. The number 58 holds a special place in the hearts of Illini fans and Motuliak has quickly become a fan favorite on campus. Dan can be seen frequenting many of the local hot spots such as C.O. Daniel's, Kam's, and Station 211. But we get ahead of ourselves... Dan's mental/physical toughness was forged in his hometown of Lafayette, In.