PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s safe to say if there is ever an end to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a historian will look back and say there has never been a Steelers player like Alejandro Villanueva.
The Army Ranger and seven year Steelers vet just looks at the world differently than almost any NFL player ever has.
For instance, Villanueva’s thoughts on playing offensive tackle in the NFL.
“It reminds me a little bit of jumping out of airplanes when I was in the Army,” Villanueva said. “There is very little upside. The best thing that can happen when you jump out of an airplane is that you survive. Everything else that can happen is all negative. Playing tackle is the same way. The best thing that can happen is that nothing happens.”
Often this year, very little has happened running the football for the Steelers, at least in the last month and a half. When asked about the reasons for those struggles.
“I would agree with any theory any of you might have to say, there is so much duality behind every theory about football, just like in life,” Villanueva said. “Fortunately I don’t have to worry about answering these questions. I just have to worry about executing my blocks & staying sane between the ears.”
While he seems cavalier about some of the issues around football or this team, don’t be confused that he doesn’t care or doesn’t take it seriously. He said Maurkice Pouncey, with whom he is very close friends, sets the tone with the level of pride in their position room and a desire to play at a high level.
“What I think before every game is that I’ve been playing terrible and that I have to get better in my next block,” Villanueva said. “I have to do better in my next game. I have to feel like I’m the difference when a play works.”
“Dwelling and bathing in this negativity before every snap and having a mental breakdown is somehow how I’ve learned to play football. I know a lot of tackles do the same thing. A shout out to those mental sufferers out there.”
“I’m focused on the things I can control and that is assignment blocking and the types of blocks I have to do. Maybe I haven’t been doing a good job this season. I’m not very familiar with anything that’s been said. I’m not really familiar what Coach Tomlin tells you and the media. I’ve been in a media bubble for the past almost year of my life. I try to the best of my abilities on every single block. I understand that I have so much to improve on, that I’m not a perfect player and I have to minimize mistakes.”
That media bubble comment is serious. He even essentially went back in time to make sure he couldn’t read what the media or fans are saying.
“I got a flip phone this off-season,” Villanueva said. “I felt every single time I looked at my phone, I was getting upset or I was starting to think too much of what is going on in the world,” Villanueva said. “I’m somewhere in between a 2020 millennial and an Amish person from Central Pennsylvania.”
Villanueva is a free agent after this season, saying that hasn’t impacted him and he has no fear of moving because he estimates he’s lived in 17 different cities in his life.
“I don’t know what it’s like not to know where you are going to be next year,” Villanueva said. “I think my whole life, it’s been a ‘where are we going to go, Dad? Where are we going to be living next year?’ Hopefully somewhere within nine hours of our grandparents so we can maybe see our cousins.”
“It is for sure something that makes you appreciate everything, your friendships, your teammates, the city of Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania. Living elections in Pennsylvania has been wild and crazy.”
The Mississippi native is a fascinating man who has seen things most can’t even fathom. He’s incredibly complex and has intelligent opinions on nearly any topic you would bring up with him, but Villanueva has a very simple thought about his football career.
“I’m just an offensive lineman trying to do my job.”