Caleb Vander Esch understands why you think he’s Leighton’s brother.
That name.
The two bear some physical resemblance.
That name.
They both play football. Professionally. In Arlington, Texas.
That name.
For the record, “I’m Leighton’s cousin,” Caleb said. “Everybody thinks I’m his brother. That, or it’s, ‘Are you related to the guy on the Cowboys?’ ”
Leighton Vander Esch is the starting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys.
Caleb Vander Esch is a wide receiver for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL.
“Leighton is my dad’s brother’s son,” Caleb said.
The two grew up just a tad differently. Caleb grew up in California. Leighton grew up in a small town in Idaho.
“My aunts and uncles made sure we all knew each other growing up,” Caleb said. “We had a family reunion there (in Idaho) and one of the things I remember are their ATVs, and a cousin or an uncle ended up in a creek. And, I remember their horses.”
Leighton’s original hope was that he could, somehow, make it happen that Caleb would join him when he played at Boise State.
Didn’t work out. Caleb was a late bloomer, and lightly recruited coming out of high school.
Now the “plan” is for, somehow, his younger cousin could get a look by Leighton’s team, the Dallas Cowboys.
After missing his first two college seasons at South Dakota, one because of a redshirt and the other due to a broken foot he suffered after dunking a basketball, Caleb was a nice, four-year college player from 2018 to 2021.
Caleb is listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and ... there may be some fuzzy math in those figures.
After finishing school in 2021, he moved to Atlanta where he lived on a living room cot with his brother.
He worked odd jobs, bar tended on the weekends, and trained as much as possible. He used his money to hire speed trainers and strength coaches.
The goal was to land one shot to play professional football. He gave himself a three-year window to pursue this; to see if he could make it to the National Football League.
After the NFL didn’t work out, he tried out for the XFL, and was signed to join the Arlington Renegades.
“This has been great. It’s professional football,” he said. “But in terms of ‘scratch that itch?’ I really want to see if I can do this in the NFL.”
In six games with the Renegades, he has seven receptions for 118 yards. Not exactly video game stats. The Renegades have two games remaining in the XFL’s 10-game regular season schedule.
More often a player who gets a look by an NFL franchise after he played in a “minor league,” like an XFL or a USFL, it’s not about numbers, because so often the stats ain’t much. It’s more about something a scout or coach saw in a game or on film and likes.
Sometimes “a look” is just one person doing another person a favor. Maybe an agent. Maybe a scout. Maybe an assistant coach. Maybe a family friend.
Any player who has been in Caleb’s spot before can attest that getting a single look and one tryout by an NFL team is the achievement.
After the XFL season ends, expect some of those players to be invited to NFL camps. Caleb’s hope is to receive one of those invites.
Either way, as a player in the XFL he is closer to the NFL than he was when he was sleeping on a cot in his brother’s house in Atlanta.
As a player in the XFL, he’s closer to having a shot to realize his dream of playing with his cousin, Leighton.
“We talk intermittently, and we’d love to play together,” he said. “We did try to make some things happen last year, but it didn’t work out. He’s been great with advice. Playing together is not the goal, but we would love for it to happen.”
It starts with one look, which is Caleb’s immediate goal.
