RIGGINS, Idaho (CBS 2) — Riggins is home to Leighton Vander Esch, a young man who made a name for himself playing linebacker for the Boise State Broncos as a walk on and is now doing the same thing as the number one draft pick for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.

Kitty Hollenbeak works at the Riggins Whitewater Market and has known Vander Esch since he was a little kid.

"He's very down to earth, very polite, very nice," she said. "I think he made a believer of people, even people who didn't like football watch it now."

In Riggins, though, not everyone has time to watch football says Everett Vannatta.

"I'm too busy wood gettin', takin' care of my kid, livin' life," he said.

But Vannatta says Vander Esch is the pride of the community.

At the Whitewater Market, Vander Esch's Dallas Jersey hangs proudly over the only automatic door in town.

John Llewellyn, the store's owner, says Vander Esch is putting Riggins on the map.

"I'm sure people around the country think it's a small town," Llewellyn said. They may have a hard time understanding the way we live. But were just Americans, we love our area, we love our town and we love our school. It's a great place to grow up."

There's probably no such thing as the perfect role model in life.

But don't tell that to anybody in Riggins

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