Philadelphia Eagles It was a nice spring
story when the Eagles signed former Army Ranger Alejandro
Villanueva. Now that
summer is here, Philadelphia Eagles the story gets more complicated and quite a
bit more interesting. Philadelphia
Eagles It's one thing for Chip Kelly to give a chance to a man who served his
country with distinction. But it's quite another thing for a man to make the
transition from full-time soldier to professional football player. "He's
doing a real nice job," Kelly said at the end of
last week's minicamp. Philadelphia
Eagles "I think you forget what he's transitioning from. Not only did he
spend his stint with the Army, but his last year at West
Point, he was a wide receiver, and now he's playing defensive line
in the National Football League. "So, not only is it a transition because
he has not played football in a couple years, it's he's playing really a new
position. He played some defensive end I think his sophomore, junior year at
Army, but then he was moved to offensive line. Then he went from offensive line
to wide receiver, so he's had a real varied background." If Villanueva has
a real chance with anyone, it's Kelly. The second-year coach is not exactly
married to NFL orthodoxy. And Kelly has been to some international hot spots in
support of American troops. He has studied the Navy SEALS and their training
methods, as well. "He's given me the opportunity," Villanueva said of
Kelly last week. "For me, it's all uphill. That's the only way I can look
at it." Villanueva said it has been "fun" to work out and
practice with the Eagles' defensive linemen. "The D-line squad that we
have here is really fun," Villanueva said. "I love working with [line
coach Jerry] Azzinaro. I hope I can stay with the D-line and do some good
things." Kelly doesn't know how it will shake out, but he's intrigued to
see if Villanueva can earn a spot on his roster. "He's a guy that I think
you can really keep an eye on just because he's got such an upside," Kelly
said. "I really don't know how the whole thing will pan out, but in terms
of a work ethic and things like that, his is kind of second to none. He was
running five miles a day. We're certainly not asking our defense linemen to run
five miles a day. There was one day here, I think he went from here to an Army
training session and went out and had a couple PT tests that he had to pass and
actually one of them was a five-mile test. Philadelphia Eagles He nailed it and
came back and didn't miss a day. "He's been just a guy that you see every
day just getting a little bit better, Philadelphia Eagles getting a little bit
better. As I said the other day, Philadelphia Eagles a real intriguing prospect
but just amazed at everything that Alejandro does, to be honest with you."
If Villanueva can continue to progress in training camp the way he did through
the spring, Philadelphia Eagles there's a chance this feel-good story will get
even better, Philadelphia Eagles.
