Vander Esch’s talent declared itself early

Football fans throughout the state of Idaho are familiar with Leighton Vander Esch — a name that commands respect from Boise State opponents who are aware of the junior linebacker’s raw strength and ferocious playing style.

But Vander Esch wasn’t always the formidable gridiron giant Bronco fans have come to revere. In fact, the junior had his modest beginnings in Riggins, a small town with a population of just over 400 residents.

When the linebacker first stepped foot on the football field as a freshman, Salmon River coach Charlie Shepherd immediately recognized the athlete’s untapped potential. But the 8-man coaching veteran didn’t fully grasp the phenom’s playmaking ability until substituting him on offense while trailing Garden Valley in a first-round playoff game.

“It’s probably my fault for waiting as long as I did, but I put Leighton in at quarterback late in the third quarter,” Shepherd said. “He brought the team back with his passing ability and we even had an opportunity to win the game in the closing moments, just didn’t get it done. But the bright spot in that loss was that’s when the lights really came on that we for sure had ourselves a superstar in this kid.”

Shepherd isn’t the only regional coach to find himself impressed with Vander Esch. Countless opponents have heaped praise on the star linebacker, including Council coach Dan Shumway, who dropped the Idaho Class 1A Division II championship game to the Savages in 2013.

“One of the things that made him awfully tough was that he could scramble and still throw the ball 40 or 50 yards down the field on a rope, he was just so accurate,” Shumway said. “It was the same thing defensively, having that size and speed you see now at Boise State. He could diagnose a play and was so quick to get there. It made him a force to be reckoned with.”

Despite amassing an array of head-turning defensive numbers during his final high school season — 131 tackles, five interceptions, five fumble recoveries and four defensive touchdowns — the Broncos were the only Division I program to display interest in Vander Esch as a recruit.

“We had quite a few discussions about what was best for his future,” Shepherd said. “My advice to him at the time was to go play football for Boise State, because that’s your best chance to play at the next level. ... This is one of the few times where I feel like I can say, ‘I told you so.’ ”

After redshirting in 2014, Vander Esch put together relatively quiet showings the next two seasons before an explosive junior year thrust him into the conference spotlight. The Bronco standout tallied 129 tackles, three sacks, five tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery to pick up Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors and lead his squad to a 10-3 regular-season record.

After a 38-28 victory over Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 16, Vander Esch returned to his hometown for a community celebration. It was during this time when he met with Shepherd to reveal his interest in declaring early for the 2018 NFL draft.

“When I first got there, Leighton called me over and he actually broke down a little bit and he confessed to me that he was thinking about going into the NFL, quitting Boise State and moving on,” Shepherd said. “He asked me what I thought, and I told him that he had such a great season and he had such good publicity leading up to the end of the year, so I thought there was a good chance for him to get drafted if he was to go right now.”

The advice proved difficult for Shepherd to give, as the Salmon River coach was a previous walk-on with the Bronco football program during his collegiate playing days.

“I would love to watch him play another year at Boise State,” Shepherd said. “To me, it was a no-lose situation for him, always a little bit of a gamble going early. But at the same time, I told him it may be a bigger gamble to not go right now, because you might not get the same publicity or have the same type of season next year, you might get hurt, there’s a bunch of things that could go wrong.

“It was actually that night when he got on the phone and made the decision he was going to declare for the draft. I was one of the first to know he had declared, so that was a special moment for me.”

In the weeks since the decision, Shepherd has received calls from representatives with the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams to discuss background information on the standout linebacker. Vander Esch has been projected to go as early as the second round in several mock drafts, but no matter where he lands, the organization will have at least one new fan.

“I’m going to be grateful and throw 100 percent behind whatever team drafts him,” Shepherd said.

The Salmon River coach hopes other athletes at the 8-man level use Vander Esch as an example of how they can reach their goals, regardless of their background.

“The impossible can happen if you dedicate yourself and you believe it and work toward it,” Shepherd said. “I also hope other colleges and universities are paying attention and see what they’ve missed by not coming after him and recruiting him.”

Below are updates on other area athletes who played collegiate sports this past fall.

n As injuries decimated the Idaho football team, Pullman High graduate David Ungerer was forced to shoulder a bigger offensive workload for the Vandals. The junior wideout caught the first touchdown pass of his career in a nonconference road contest with Western Michigan and finished with six scoring receptions on the year. Ungerer wrapped up the season with 432 yards receiving on 39 catches — both of those marks third on the team.

n Mason Petrino, another Greyhound grad and the son of Vandal coach Paul Petrino, also saw a significant amount of time under center following a hand injury to starting quarterback Matt Linehan. The sophomore chucked the pigskin for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-33 passing before a shoulder issue sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Mason Petrino also finished with 40 yards rushing in 15 attempts.

n Ex-Troy tailback Zach Bafus saw the gridiron for a few UI snaps in the squad’s season opener against Sacramento State.

n A Sept. 9 contest between Idaho and UNLV served as a makeshift reunion for brothers Joe and Cameron Lang, a pair of long snappers who previously attended Pullman High. As a junior, Joe Lang took the turf as a starter with the Rebels special teams unit, while his younger brother served as a reserve option for the Vandals.

n Redshirt junior defensive end Reggie Tilleman saw some action on the Big Sky gridiron for the Montana Grizzlies. The former Genesee Bulldog finished the year with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

n After earning a starting nod at right tackle for Eastern Washington, Moscow’s Nick Ellison chose to leave the program in August for personal reasons, according to a statement from coach Aaron Best. Will Gram of Troy was listed as a reserve option at left guard on the team’s preseason depth chart.

n Former Moscow standout Kellen Davis helped bolster the offensive line for Montana Tech during a successful 6-4 showing for the program in the Frontier Conference.

n Jack Akey of Moscow helped propel the San Diego Mesa Olympians to a 9-2 record and a victory in the Southern California Bowl against Santa Ana. The sophomore wideout caught 24 passes for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns during the year.

n Sophomore middle blocker Sydney Lawrence of Pullman powered the Edmonds Community College volleyball squad with 164 kills and 96 saves. The Tritons finished the year with a 27-17 record and a 9-3 showing in the North Region of the NWAC.

n In her sophomore season at Columbia Basin Community College, former Deary standout Brooke Swanson was third on the squad with 175 digs and fourth with 26 block assists. The performance earned the sophomore NWAC East Region All-Star honors as the squad finished the year with a 27-9 record.

n Jonny Handel of Logos (Moscow), was one of the top five runners for the LCSC men’s cross country team, which earned a fifth-place finish at the NAIA national championships. Handel, a sophomore, crossed the line in a time of 25 minutes, 58 seconds in the team’s final meet.

n Levi Wintz, a former distance teammate of Handel’s at Logos, finished eighth at the Clash of the Inland Northwest and 29th at a dual meet against Gonzaga in his junior year on the Idaho cross country team. Another former Logos athlete on that squad is Josiah Anderson, who finished ninth at the Clash of the Inland Northwest and 27th at a dual against the Zags.

n Paul Ryan, another Logos distance runner, competed as a junior on a Washington State cross country team that finished No. 24 in the NCAA. Ryan finished 56th overall at the Pac-12 Championships, 74th at the NCAA West Region Championship and 232nd at the NCAA Championships.

n Wyatt Jager, a Moscow High graduate, is in his junior season with the Ohio State men’s swim team. He finished second during a dual against Kenyon College in the 50 free with a time of 20.96 seconds, and has been part of an OSU squad which has gone 5-1 in duals since the fall and finished no lower than second in any large meet.

Away at School is published periodically throughout the school year. To include collegiate athletes who graduated from high school in north central Idaho or southeastern Washington, submit names by calling (208) 848-2268, by email at sports@lmtribune.com or fax at (208) 746-1185.