Steelers News: Villanueva, Williams, Colbert

The Steelers players head into the offseason for recovery and the coaches head out to prepare for free agency and the draft.

Steelers season never truly ends for Steeler Nation so while the offseason starts to heat up we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Wednesday, Feb. 17^th.

Building confidence

Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva had a difficult journey to an NFL roster after not being drafted in 2010 out of West Point and serving deployments overseas instead of playing on teams. His journey brought him to Pittsburgh where Teresa Varley explains how much he grew over the course of this season.

Varley delivers again with a look inside a player’s journey that fans wouldn’t otherwise have known. Villanueva had a rough start after he took over at left tackle for the injured Kelvin Beachum but after listening to his teammates and watching film he grew his confidence and it showed on the field.

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"“I’d been cut before. I’d been trying to get in the NFL for so many years. From Cincinnati, to Chicago, to Philadelphia, you always get the bad news in a way you don’t expect. I was just trying to make the team here. I didn’t think it looked good from an experience standpoint, and there were just too many things stacked up. What came through for me were my coaches and teammates. Coach Mike Munchak was the difference maker, giving me a lot of confidence to play. And once I got on the field it was the support from my teammates. From Ben Roethlisberger, to the offensive line especially and even other players like Stephon Tuitt and Cam Heyward. From that aspect I am very fortunate.” – Alejandro Villanueva"

Sit back and watch the entertainment

Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams has been a very entertaining Twitter follow for the past couple of days. From tweeting a picture of his termination letter from the Carolina Panthers to calling out the Patriots it’s been fun to watch.

That is a sampling of a Twitter timeline of a man who is having a fun time. It’s fun to see the replies and see how people take him too seriously. I am a DeAngelo Williams fan. I celebrate the man’s entire catalogue.

Neglecting the secondary

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert spoke to the media on Tuesday and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has his comments about the most popular subject for the past few off seasons; the secondary. Fowler explains that Colbert and Co. haven’t intentionally neglected to address the secondary in the draft the last few years because they’ve gone with the best player available approach over drafting for need.

Last season the Steelers drafted cornerback Senquez Golson in the second round but he missed out on his rookie season with a torn labrum. Fowler suggested that Colbert recognizes the need for reinforcements for a pass defense that allowed over 4,500 passing yards last season.

Next: Steelers: James Harrison returning?

He’s open to the draft but also open to free agency, including re-signing potential free agents like William Gay, Robert Golden, Will Allen and Brandon Boykin. He even noted that the team hasn’t closed the door on Cortez Allen. Gasp.