The Dallas Cowboys held their first official practice at training camp on Thursday in Oxnard, California.

Silver Star Nation’s Babe Laufenberg caught up with the Cowboys’ first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch to see how he hopes to use this chance of a lifetime to make an early impact on the Dallas defense.

“Everybody knows this is where I want to be my whole, entire life,” says Vander Esch. “So, the fact that it’s already here and getting rolling, and getting rolling with the preparation of the season, it’s awesome.”

If you’re wondering how far the 21-year-old linebacker has come, he hails from Riggins, Idaho, a town with a population of 410 residents, where he played 8-man football. Vander Esch was the valedictorian of his high school graduating class, which consisted of nine boys and two girls.

“It’s amazing how his career progressed at Boise and what he did,” says Dallas defensive coordinator Ron Marinelli. “So, the good thing about that is you can see the upside. This group, we’re all here for a reason. We got here, everybody has a different road map.”

“It’s obviously an exciting time in my life and I know for all my teammates and even the coaches,” says Vander Esch. “They’re all talking about how excited they are and how pumped they’ve been to get here and get rolling.”

And get rolling they will.

The Cowboys will participate in a few non-contact practices trying to avoid injury on Friday. Then, it’s full speed ahead on Saturday as they throw on the pads.

To follow Vander Esch on Twitter, click here.