Normalcy difficult after death of Drake
Villanueva offers unique perspective
Before he became a Steelers offensive lineman, Alejandro Villanueva was an Army Ranger. He served three combat tours in Afghanistan and came back an American hero.
Many of his friends and fellow soldiers were not as fortunate. Many of them — still teenagers — died serving their country.
Villanueva has experienced the loss of loved ones much more than others his age. It’s why reporters sought him out Wednesday morning, three days after the sudden death of Steelers assistant coach Darryl Drake.
Villanueva was blunt and candid. He was careful not to compare the death of a young solider to a 62- yearold coach who lived a full life, but he was thoughtful and it was poignant when he tried to put Drake’s death in perspective as the Steelers attempted to get back to some sense of normalcy.
“You can’t compare the two,” Villanueva said Wednesday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. “In the Army, you prepare for these things to happen. You expect these things to happen. They definitely unify the group, maybe not for the right reasons, but they definitely have an impact on the morality of the unit. Sometimes, it’s vengeful. You want to go get the responsible culprits. In this case, it was one person who died.
“The kids that died in battle are usually 18, 19 years old, so that’s a little bit tougher to swallow. You look at their kids that they’ll never be able to meet. It’s part of the culture. You deal with death. Once you get over the deployments, once you can put it in the rearview mirror, you can learn some very valuable lessons about death. It makes you appreciate life. Death is a part of life. You cannot have life without death. It’s something that individually everyone has to deal with at some point because it does come to all of us.”
Drake was with the Steelers just 18 months, but Villanueva provided insight into how close he became with the players. He described the relationship between Drake and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as “very close.” And, of course, he had close bonds with his receivers. Most of them politely declined to speak with reporters Wednesday as they struggled to deal with their emotions.
“It’s been pretty tough,” Villanueva said. “Not just for the offense but for the whole organization.
“From the time he came he was very up front, he just walked in, he didn’t have to do any introductions. He started to open up his mind. He became an outspoken leader about the things he thought had to be said. People respected that and responded to that.
“When you have someone who has such a genuine personality everyone becomes attracted to them. All of the offensive line had individual jokes with him. Ben had a very close relationship with him.”
Younger players and those who are new to the team didn’t know Drake quite as well, but they’re trying to do their part by being there for their teammates.
“It’s been a little tough, but guys are coming back together,” rookie running back Benny Snell said. “Right now, I see it like this is just going to make us better. We’re brothers around here. We got each other’s back when we’re down.”
The Steelers attended a private viewing for Drake Tuesday night after practice. They practiced Wednesday afternoon in full pads. There was much more energy than in the rain- shortened workout Tuesday, and it appeared the players got back into their routine.
They’ll practice again Thursday and Friday before playing another preseason game Saturday night at Heinz Field against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I think coach Tomlin has done a very good job of understanding, ‘ What will coach Drake want from all of us at this moment?’ ” Villanueva said. “Coach Drake would not want us to dwell on this. He would definitely want us to have a big sense of humor about this. For us, it’s about us starting to realize we have a season to play. We have to get focused. Playmakers have to make plays. It’s a great opportunity to honor his life, his legacy by making those plays, by staying focused and playing our best football.”