Ask Leighton Vander Esch about his improbable path from eight-man high school football to first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys Braden Smith Jersey , and the rookie linebacker is quick with a retort of never being fazed by brighter lights or bigger cities.
Ask the former Boise State walk-on what he does to relax, and Vander Esch stares silently as his smile grows.
r1;Uh,r1; he said Friday, the first day of rookie minicamp. r1;I donr17;t even know.r1;
Maybe that helps explain his rise to Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year and his showing at the combine and other workouts that stood out to new Dallas linebackers coach Ben Bloom. The Cowboys drafted Vander Esch 19th overall two weeks ago.
r1;Itr17;s kind of hard for me to relax, honestly,r1; said Vander Esch, who signed an $11.8 million, four-year deal later Friday. r1;At this point, expectations are so high therer17;s no time to relax. Therer17;s no days off. Your17;ve just got to keep trucking away.r1;
Linebacker was one of the primary needs for Dallas going into the draft because of Sean Leer17;s history of injuries, Jaylon Smithr17;s continuing recovery from a serious college knee injury and Anthony Hitchensr16; departure in free agency.
The Cowboys hadnr17;t drafted a linebacker in the first round since Bobby Carpenter 12 years ago in almost the same spot (18th). Carpenter didnr17;t get a second contract, leaving Dallas after four years in a career that ended after seven seasons. He never had more than 37 tackles.
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is already talking rotation with Lee, Smith and Vander Esch for two spots. If Lee stays healthy, thatr17;s more likely to mean shared time between Vander Esch and Smith, a second-round pick in 2016.
Smith didnr17;t play as a rookie while recovering from the devastating injury during his final game at Notre Dame and was inconsistent last season, particularly early in the year when he was playing more than expected after Hitchens injured a knee in the preseason.
r1;Wer17;re going to play the best guys,r1; Bloom said. r1;Everybody linebacker in the room has the ability to play at least two positions. Wer17;ll get the best guys on the field and theyr17;ll be asked to have multiple positions.r1;
Leer17;s best fit is weakside linebacker, but her17;s missed at least one game because of injury in seven of his eight seasons. The only exception was his All-Pro year in 2016.
Vander Esch considers himself a middle linebacker and flatly denied a report from before the draft that a neck injury sustained at Boise had prompted some NFL teams to downgrade him on draft boards. Regardless Jamison Crowder Jersey , the Cowboys werenr17;t one of those teams.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones likes to compare Vander Esch to Rolando McClain, a first-round flameout in Oakland who had the best year of his career in 2014 in helping the Cowboys to just their second playoff win since their last Super Bowl title following the 1995 season.
Size would be a good place to start with that connection. McClain was 6-foot-4, same as Vander Esch, with an almost identical listed weight. The rookie is listed at 256.
r1;Therer17;s always pressure to perform,r1; Vander Esch said. r1;Obviously this is the biggest level now so therer17;s even more of it. Your17;ve just got to relax yourself and go out and do what you do.r1;
After helping Salmon River High School in Riggins, Idaho, to a pair of state titles, Vander Esch walked on at Boise, about 150 miles south of his hometown. After a redshirt year, he progressed fast enough to bypass his senior season and enter the draft.
r1;Your17;ve got to be able to adapt quick no matter what,r1; Vander Esch said. r1;Your17;ve got to able to take on anything and not worry about it, not stress yourself out, not get all flustered with it.r1;
With his focus so much on football, Vander Esch didnr17;t mind getting flustered over a question about what he does for fun.
NOTES: DT Maliek Collins is likely out until training camp after breaking a bone in his left foot Thursday during offseason workouts at the teamr17;s practice facility. He is expected to have his second surgery on that foot since January. The first procedure was for a stress reaction that bothered him last season, although he didnr17;t miss any games. r30; WR Terrance Williams, who broke a bone in his right foot in January, has been working on the side with trainers. Coach Jason Garrett said his recovery is on schedule http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/taco-charlton-jersey , which likely means a return at training camp.
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Andrew Luck's postgame recovery process turned into a quick reminder of what he'd missed over the past 20 months.
The throws, the hits and, yes, even the Monday morning soreness.
So on his 27th birthday, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback stood at his locker and reflected on how he was dealing with moving beyond one game and onto the next.
"I forget what it felt like, sort of the postgame, the next day," Luck said Wednesday with a laugh. "I've never been in a serious car wreck thankfully, but I imagine you get a little bit of that feeling. It's always good to take those steps and look at the game objectively and also physically move around and get going."
It's certainly different from last year's weekly routine.
But this is the next step in Luck's long road back.
He threw 53 passes in Sunday's game against Cincinnati, the fourth-highest single-game total of his career behind only the 55 he threw in a comeback victory over Green Bay in 2012, the 54 he threw in a comeback victory at Detroit later that season and the 54 he attempted in the Colts' playoff loss during his rookie season.
Two years later, Luck threw 53 passes against Denver and Cleveland.
Since then, though, he had never topped 50 鈥?something new coach Frank Reich didn't intend to do in his first regular-season start since January 2017. The Bengals defense dictated it.
Luck also was sacked twice and took an additional seven hits during the game, managed to draw two penalties for roughing the passer and even endured a helmet-to-helmet collision that led to the ejection of Bengals safety Shawn Williams late in the first quarter.
Following the game, Luck said he felt fine.
On Monday, the painful reminders came rushing back.
"I was sore. I felt a couple of those hits Joe Looney Jersey ," Luck said. "Otherwise, I think I came out fairly clean. I felt like I had juice left in my arm, which I am excited about. We did throw a lot, I didn't realize we threw it that many times."
Luck felt better Wednesday as preparations kicked into high gear for this weekend's matchup at Washington, where rain and wind from Hurricane Florence could make it challenging.
Reich doesn't anticipate making any significant changes to the game plan or practice schedule yet, waiting for more accurate forecasts as the weekend and the hurricane get closer.
"We'll take some snaps with a wet ball, but I'm not a big believer in throwing with a wet ball too much, it gets heavy. Sometimes that can put a little stress on a quarterback's shoulder," the former NFL quarterback said.
"You might do a little bit of a wet ball drill by quarterback-center exchange and a few light tosses here and there."
Of course, neither Reich nor Luck were there for last year's blizzard in Buffalo 鈥?a game played in conditions 23-year veteran Adam Vinatieri called the worst he's ever faced.
Reich said there have been "ongoing communications" with league officials about potential contingency plans.
Meanwhile, it appears Luck will have his longtime left tackle, Anthony Castonzo, back in the lineup.
Castonzo hasn't been full-go since re-injuring his hamstring Aug. 4. He initially was hurt during workouts between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, went on the physically unable to perform list and then had another setback shortly after returning to practice.
The Colts (0-1) considered bringing back Castonzo for last week's opener before deciding to deactivate him.
This week, Castonzo promises he'll be on the field.
"I'll be full-go, I'll be at left tackle," he said. "It was extremely close (last week) Kyle Fuller Jersey , I talked it over with the coaches and doctors about the risk of going out there, it was just a really high risk."
Castonzo's return could allow Joe Haeg to slide from the left side to the right side where he played more frequently during the previous two seasons. J'Marcus Webb started at right tackle last weekend, but was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after hurting his hamstring on the Bengals' 83-yard fumble return, which sealed the 34-23 victory.
The return of Castonzo and the possible move of Haeg could provide Luck with the more cohesive line Indy anticipated this season, giving Luck a better chance of staying healthy.
Even though Luck understands that the Monday morning soreness is just part of the game he must get re-acclimated with.
"After one of those hits, I was like, 'OK, am I OK? Is it there? Can I still do this?'" he said. "But that was really the only time that I can remember, which was a relief, you know, not to be in the back of my mind 100 percent of the time."
Notes: Denzelle Good and Chris Milton (concussion protocol) were the only players who did not practice Wednesday. ... Castonzo, running back Marlon Mack (hamstring), defensive linemen Denico Autry (ankle) and Grover Stewart (shoulder) and safety Clayton Geathers (knee) all did limited work. Womens Su'a Cravens Jersey
