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Cowboys LB Vander Esch on Boise State’s Avalos: ‘He’s like my second father’

Boise State football coach Andy Avalos is like a father to Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who spent some time with the Broncos last weekend.

Vander Esch played at Boise State from 2015 to 2017, and he watched Avalos ascend the coaching ladder from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator and now head coach at their alma mater.

Avalos was also a linebacker for the Broncos from 2001 to 2004. He was hired in January to replace Bryan Harsin, who left for Auburn.

“He’s like a second father to me,” Vander Esch said. “I know he’s bringing that intensity and focus to this program, and I’m just excited to see what these guys can do here.”

Vander Esch is busy preparing for a contract year with the Cowboys, but he took some time out last weekend to give back to children in his home state. The 25-year-old Riggins native was in Boise on June 19 for his annual youth football camp, which was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He took the field at Bishop Kelly High with about 100 kids, ages 6 to 16, teaching proper tackling technique and the fundamentals of the position he mastered. But first, he sat down for a barbecue lunch with Avalos and his team.

“It was awesome catching up with the guys,” said Vander Esch, adding that he and Avalos have spoken about once a month since his college career ended. “I love the guy to death. I know he’s going to do special things here.”

Vander Esch walked on at Boise State in 2015 and went on to be named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 after he ranked No. 5 in the FBS with 141 tackles and posted four sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles.

The Dallas Cowboys picked him No. 19 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he went on to have a breakout rookie year, collecting 140 tackles and becoming the team’s first rookie linebacker to make the Pro Bowl. A neck injury cost him seven games in 2019, but he bounced back in 2020 and finished third on the team with 73 tackles, despite missing six more games with injuries.

Vander Esch’s rookie deal covered four years and was worth $11.8 million, but it expires after this season and the Cowboys announced in May that they aren’t going to pick up his fifth-year option. The Dallas coaches hope to re-sign him before his deal expires, but Vander Esch knows he’s going to have to earn that extension with a big year on the field.

“It’s a big year. Everyone knows it, but nothing has changed,” he said. “I’ve still got to go out there and do my job, just like always. Pressure is pressure.”

Former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch’s youth football camp was canceled last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. It returned to Bishop Kelly High School on June 19.
Former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch’s youth football camp was canceled last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. It returned to Bishop Kelly High School on June 19.

Outside of a week and a half that he spent in Riggins with his family after the season ended, Vander Esch hasn’t taken much time off. He’s spent the majority of the spring training at the Cowboys’ facilities — in part because he knows the team has been in search of his potential replacement.

Dallas picked Penn State’s Micah Parsons at No. 12 overall and LSU’s Jabril Cox in the fourth round of this year’s draft. But competition is part of life in the NFL, Vander Esch said, and all he can do is put his head down and go to work.

“You’re always trying to improve on your game, no matter what,” Vander Esch said. “I can improve in so many areas, and that’s the mission that I’ve been on.”

Women’s golf: Broncos hire Downs

Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey has now hired three head coaches since he was hired in January, beginning with Avalos.

Dickey also hired softball coach Justin Shults, who was introduced last week, and on Thursday, the university announced it has hired Kailin Downs as its new women’s golf coach. She replaces Nicole Bird, who announced in April that she was stepping down after 14 years with the Broncos.

Downs spent the past eight seasons at Portland State, where she led the Vikings to seven tournament titles, including the 2014 Big Sky Conference championship.

“She has a great passion for golf and the student-athlete experience and has been highly successful as a student-athlete and a head coach,” Dickey said Thursday in a news release. “Her proven track record leaves no doubt she can take us to that level.”

During her time at Portland State, the Vikings won seven individual titles, set 23 scoring records and earned 16 all-conference honors. In 2017-18, the team broke the school’s single-season scoring record with an average of 296.5 and its single-round record of 285. Before going to Portland State, she spent five years as an assistant coach at Oregon State.

Downs played golf at New Mexico, where she was a two-time All-American, a two-time Mountain West Player of the Year and a four-time All-Mountain West selection. She also played two years on the LPGA’s developmental tour and the Cactus Tour.

“The city of Boise, and the investment Boise State is making in its golf programs — especially with its new indoor practice facility — have been nothing short of impressive,” Downs said. “I am looking forward to getting started with the team and working to build a winning program.”