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Saginaw Sting Player Spotlight Corey Gonzales - DB #23

02.18.09 - story by Ben Murphy

Corey Gonzales made a name for himself at the collegiate level when he returned a 100 yard interception for a score while playing for Saginaw Valley State University  (SVSU.) Since returning that pick, which is still a school record, he has continued to play football at a high level.

In 2006 Gonzales joined the expansion Port Huron Pirates in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), where he helped win the CIFL Championship. He played for the Pirates again in 2007 before joining the Saginaw Sting in their inaugural 2008 campaign.

“It was just a good opportunity when I played in Port Huron,” Gonzales said about getting into the indoor game. “Being around the team, it keeps me humble and keeps me focused to do a good job at work and do more things outside of your comfort zone.”

Gonzales believes that he has two attributes that help him find success on the football field.
“My fundamentals of the game and my knowledge of the game,” he said. “I may not be the biggest person but I use my fundamentals and my instincts to get to the ball a lot quicker. If you don't have fundamentals you're not going to be a decent player.”

Despite having two CIFL championships to his credit, Gonzales claims that his favorite football memory came in 2003, while playing for SVSU. That season he was a part of a Cardinal team that went 12-1 en route to a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference championship (GLIAC.)

“That was a big moment for the school because it was the first year that we actually beat Grand Valley and it gave us the GLIAC championship.”

Gonzales is looking forward to the new season, and is anxious to see what challenges the new Indoor Football League presents to him.

“This season it's a new league so I'm looking forward to the competition and seeing how it's going to affect my play,” he said.

When his playing days are over, Gonzales claims to want to get into coaching the game, either at the high school or college level. Perhaps his love for playing Madden 2009 is preparing him for his future as a coach.

“It gives me a chance to be a coach on the field and give me opportunities to play the way I like to play a game in real life situations,” he said about playing the game. “I will probably end up coaching just to stay around the game.”