OXNARD, Calif. — Leighton Vander Esch learned this offseason that he was not unlike the thousands and thousands of North Texas homes constructed on clay soil.
He had a foundation issue.
The Cowboys linebacker’s walls were cracking. His doors and windows failed to open and close correctly. That is how Frisco-based trainer Chad Marr, head of Marr Strength, explained to Vander Esch the injuries he has sustained recently, a conclusion formed after examining the 25-year-old’s body.
To Marr, the cracked collarbone that began Vander Esch’s 2020 season and high ankle sprain that ended it were signs of an underlying problem.
“The bigger issue is the foundation needs some help,” Marr said. “That’s precisely what was going on with Leighton. …His hips were completely seized up. His hips were locked up, big time.”
Mired by injuries the past two years, Vander Esch believes he has found the key to unlocking the lofty expectations he holds for himself. The 2018 first-round pick stood out during the Cowboys’ spring program and looks to continue his strong training camp Wednesday when the team practices in pads for the first time.
The difference for Vander Esch in his fourth NFL campaign is like a Happy Gilmore golf lesson.
It’s all in the hips.
On Jan. 5, two days after the season ended, Vander Esch met virtually with Cowboys reporters and vowed that 2021 would be different. Having missed six games for a 6-10 team, he described himself as “on a mission” to make the mental and physical strides necessary to be an asset for the franchise.
He trained at The Star throughout the offseason. He studied film — as one example, he broke down every last detail of running back footwork before all types of runs — to sharpen his eyes and quicken his on-field anticipation.
While committing himself in the weight room, he opened himself to answers that might exist outside his purview.
That brought him to Marr.
Vander Esch’s agent Ron Slavin, who is based in Southlake, advised Vander Esch to visit Marr following positive reviews from other NFL clients. Vander Esch met him, underwent a diagnostics test, heard the house foundation metaphor in relation to his hips and received some preliminary correction.
Quickly, Vander Esch felt a difference.
“You can almost instantly tell that your muscles are firing the way they should be,” Vander Esch said. “Before I experienced it, I didn’t realize that. But after the first time I saw him and met him and he worked on my body, I was completely blown away with how much that helped me in workouts and explosiveness the next day.”
Vander Esch kept coming back and kept coming back.
When Marr gave him homework assignments, Vander Esch completed them. When Marr suggested that he drink Mountain Valley Spring Water because of the natural dissolved solids inside it, Vander Esch ordered himself cases of the green bottles.
In a phone interview this week, Vander Esch said that he noticed a difference during the spring and so far in training camp. His body still has soreness, but it feels like soreness from muscles finally firing correctly for the first time. He feels fresher and more in balance, his muscles recovering more quickly.
On June 3, during organized team activities, Vander Esch had poor technique in man coverage. He believes that would’ve led to a completion for the offense in 2020. This time, his hips helped enable him to turn and explode left to the flat and make a diving interception off quarterback Dak Prescott in front of the intended target, tight end Sean McKeon.
On a mission?
That sounds about right to Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy.
“I think Leighton has clearly hit the target in that area,” McCarthy said Tuesday. “He was one of the players that were here the whole offseason. He did a great job in the weight room, and his body and his movement reflect that.”
Vander Esch is in the final season of his contract.
When discussing why he attacked this offseason as he did, the contract doesn’t come up. Motivation goes beyond that.
“I just want to see the best for this team,” Vander Esch said. “I want to see the best for this defense and the coaches because I know how hard we’re working. I just want everybody to have that one goal, that, ‘Hey, we’re going to make a Super Bowl run, and we’re going to have some fun doing it, and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to lay it on the line.’ I know I have.”
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