Jun 15, 2016 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – A year ago at this time, Alejandro Villanueva was a feel-good story for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The former Army Ranger, who had served three tours of duty in Afghanistan following his graduation from West Point, had made several attempts to get onto an NFL roster before finally landing with the Steelers.

And after spending a season on the team’s practice squad in 2014, he went through his first training camp with the team at his current position, offensive tackle.

After failed attempts at sticking in the league, first as a tight end and then defensive end, the 6-9 Villanueva had found a home.

But the preseason brought some good moments and bad ones as he worked through the transition, though the Steelers were impressed enough to keep him on their 53-man roster. And after starting left tackle Kelvin Beachum suffered a torn ACL six weeks into the season, Villanueva replaced him as the team’s starter.

It was definitely a trial by fire.

“I didn’t know the playbook as well as I should have. I didn’t prepare as well as I should have. I didn’t play as physical as I should have,” said Villanueva, who is a harsh critic of his own play. “I didn’t follow what my teammates were doing in some instances. I tried to learn things my own way in some instances and I made raw mistakes. At the end of the day, when you can watch your mistakes and get feedback from the entire line, you can become a better player. You can make better decisions.”

The Steelers liked what they saw enough that it helped them with one of their biggest decisions of the offseason. With Beachum an unrestricted free agent, the Steelers chose not to match the one-year, $4.5-million deal Beachum received from the Jacksonville Jaguars, choosing instead to turn their left tackle job over to the 27-year-old Villanueva.

“His work ethic and his desire to be great, I think it’s important to him to not leave any stone unturned,” said Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak. “He wants to know everything, how things work and he’s always picking everyone’s brain about how to do certain things. He’s wanted so much information, he still does, and that’s why I think he’ll continue to grow.

“Having a chance to go back and watch himself on tape, (he knows) what he did well and what he needs to improve upon. When you have a guy who works like that, has that kind of work ethic, then you know he’s going to continue to do better.”

Not that the Steelers still won’t throw some challenges at him. Veteran Ryan Harris – at 16-game starter for Denver – was signed as a free agent in the offseason, while the team also selected LSU’s Jerald Hawkins in the fourth round of the draft.

But for now, the left tackle job remains with the guy who started the final 10 games of the regular season and both playoff games there last year.

“At the end of the day, you’re not just competing with the guys in the locker room, you’re competing with the whole earth,” Villanueva said. “It’s not a matter of being with Kelvin Beachum gone, it’s my job to take, it’s a matter of knowing somebody else is going to come, whether it’s a drafted guy or a free agent. The team has expectations of each player and what you can do. I guess in my case, I have to prove that I can continue to play for the Steelers.”

It’s a healthy attitude to have. But when you have seen combat and been told by three other teams – he tried out for Cincinnati and Chicago and had a short stint with the Eagles before landing with the Steelers – that you can’t play, every day is a challenge.

“I think journeys to get into the NFL are very different. You can walk onto the red carpet at the draft. You can drive in a limo as a free agent from the airport or you can walk in the back door,” Villanueva said. “I jumped the fence and walked through the back door. I was a guy who was a regional combine guy. I had never really played the position.

“I think it was more of a marketing story because I was in the Army, not because I had the potential to play. Because of all of those reasons, I think it distracted a lot from what I could do on the field. Luckily, I found a team in the Steelers that didn’t really care that I was in the Army. Because of that, I think I had a fair shot last year of showing what I could do. I had some luck. That helped a lot. Once you have those little breaks in life, you can’t let them go. It’s going to be really tough to get another opportunity like this.”

Guard David DeCastro said preliminary talks between his agent and the Steelers on a contract extension have begun. DeCastro, who was voted to the Pro Bowl last season, is entering the final year of his contract. … The Steelers announced they will wear their 1934 throwback uniforms for their game Oct. 9 against the New York Jets at Heinz Field. … The Steelers will wrap up their three-day mandatory minicamp today before breaking until training camp opens July 28 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.