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Notre Dame. And the Irish perience with guys like Schsent him his first recruiting weigert and the starters in letter. But in the end, Notre front of him in his early days. Dame never offered him a "I was able to learn from scholarship, and the Unisome great players," Villarversity of Texas thought he real said. "(Craig) Terrill, (Matt) was too small to play on the Mitrione, (Shaun) Phillips defensive line. Texas A&M showed me the path. That offered, but, in the end, he is something the program liked Purdue more. needs to get back as soon as "Thank God Coach Tilpossible. Having older guys ler loved players from Texas," that can mentor the younger Villarreal said. "And Danny players, kind of like a feeder Hope (who recruited the system. That really helped me." Lone Star State) did a great Once he earned the job recruiting me. He was starting job, he flourished, straight-forward, realistic finishing tops on the team and honest about what my in tackles for loss in 2004 chances to play were and and third in the Big Ten. He that was great. He told me still ranks 14th all-time in there were guys ahead of Purdue history in TFLs with me, but I would be given a 35. Yet, the numbers mean chance if I worked hard. little compared to the offTom Campbell field experiences and a cou"I am an only child and used to doing things on Known as a guy who left it on the field, it was hard for ple of games he called "the my own so the distance be- Villarreal, here with strength coach Jim Lathrop, to leave highlights of my career" in the field for the last time after senior day in 2005. tween Texas and Purdue was 2004. not an issue. I just wanted to "Being the first Purdue an he shares two children (Ethan, play. I am also a person of faith 6, and Reid, 2). "We left Purdue team to win at Notre Dame in 30 and knew that my journey to in a pickup truck after I gradu- years was a highlight," he said. Purdue was meant to be." ated and were married a cou- "Because I loved ND as a kid, It also helped that his high ple months later. She has been and yet they didn't recruit me in school girlfriend Colleen, who through a lot with me." the end, made it all the sweeter. later became his wife, came to By the time Villarreal was Also, winning at Penn State to Purdue, too. a junior and senior, he simply go 5-0 in '04 was a highlight. It is "Having her at Purdue was never left the field, starting every very hard to win there." great," Villarreal said of the wom- game. Yet, he was glad for the exVillarreal got a couple of chances in the NFL, making the practice squad at New Orleans. After a couple of opportunities in the business world, Villarreal found himself preferring to be around kids. He teaches business education classes at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas, not far from his hometown of Allen. But at 3 p.m., he is on the practice field coaching the defensive line, something that makes his day, every day. The Leopards, who finished 7-3 in the regular season, have a Class 4A playoff game on Saturday. "When I was working in the business world, I would get the itch around 3 p.m. to be outside coaching," Villarreal said. "Being around kids has been great and I believe it is what I am meant to do. "I love my life in football, and am so glad I am able to be part of it still. I can't imagine my life without it."j Villarreal Talks Purdue Football on HuddlePass.com Brandon Villarreal is still a student of the game. But on Huddlepass.com's Purdue site, the former Click here to visit site standout defensive lineman loves to teach. He is joined by fellow Boilermaker alums Stu Schweigert, Joey Elliott, Charles Davis, Brandon Kirsch and others on the website to explain the intricacies of the game. "Being able to describe what is going on the field from a scheme standpoint is what we are all about," Villarreal said. "We have all been there in the middle of it, so we suffer when the team is struggling, but we also can explain to fans the finer points of the game and some of the progress this team has made and challenges ahead for it." Villarreal and others submit a handful of posts a week on the site, and it also appears on GoldandBlack.com every Monday. "We want to shed light on the game we all still love," Villarreal said. "And the best part is it keeps all of us involved in something we are passionate about: Purdue football." GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 10 • 32