Former Steeler DE Heads to Iraq

[Livinginthe past]

I wish this guy all the best, and hope he comes home safe.

Any of you guys remember him?

He played 23 games over the 99/00 seasons.

A former NFL player who left the sport to join the Marines and was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman was heading for Iraq on Tuesday night.

Tillman died in the conflict in Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Staat, a former defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams who had been playing Arena football, was one of 300 Marines in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment being deployed from Kaneohe Bay. The unit is expected to be in Iraq for seven months.

"The way I look at it, we're spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war," Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu on Tuesday as he prepared to leave from Hawaii. "You can't just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you're basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We're one team."

Tillman, who played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed by friendly fire near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in April 2004. The Defense Department is investigating allegations of a cover-up, including the Army's failure to tell Tillman's family for several weeks that he had been killed by gunfire from his fellow Army Rangers, not by enemy fire as they initially were told.

Tillman gave up a $1.2 million NFL contract to join the Army Rangers.

Staat said he felt compelled to join the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but Tillman, who was his roommate at Arizona State, advised him to stay with professional football until he qualified for retirement benefits.

"I felt there is more to life than just a game," Staat said, adding that Tillman's death helped motivate him to enlist.

Staat played for the Steelers from 1998 to 2000, and played two games with the Rams in 2003. He was playing for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League before being put on the league's suspended list.

He graduated from the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot in March 2006.

To enlist, the 6-foot-5 player said last year that he dropped from 310 to 260 pounds. He said three months of boot camp training gave him a deeper appreciation for team camaraderie.

"The Marine Corps is completely different ... it's more of a marathon than a sprint," he said Tuesday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2806485

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

I remember Jeremy very well...and am very proud of the sacrifice that he is making....I know it sounds strange..but it seems that A little bit of Pat is headed back overseas now.

[steelerbackr4life]

Here is another link to the same story. Prayers out to him on his dangerous journey.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6...HPHCP&GT1=9232

[The Duke]

Best of luck

[Stlrs4Life]

Remember him well, best of Luck Jeremy, and Godspeed.

[Cape Cod Steel Head]

This has already been posted. A mod should merge threads.

[SteelShooter]

Awesome! Well, he is a brother to me now.

[polamalufan43]

Good luck to him and prayers for him to stay safe.

~Polamalufan43

[GBMelBlount]

Originally Posted by polamalufan43

Good luck to him and prayers for him to stay safe.

~Polamalufan43

ditto

[83-Steelers-43]

U.S. Marine and former Steelers defensive lineman Jeremy Staat