DALLAS -- Less than 24 hours after he was drafted, former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was flying high, literally.
PHOTOS: Vander Esch introduced at Dallas Cowboys press conference
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave Vander Esch a lift to The Star, the Dallas Cowboys' world headquarters, to be officially introduced to the media.
"It's been a whirlwind, but it's been the best one of my life," Vander Esch said when he took the mic.
He added that he doesn't know if the reality of what has happened has hit him yet, but he's on cloud 9.
"This is where I've wanted to be since day one of this process," Vander Esch said. "The fact that it came true just made it that much more surreal."
After the press conference, KTVB Sports Director Jay Tust caught up with Dallas Cowboys' head coach Jason Garrett in an exclusive video interview.
"We love him," Garrett said. "We got to know him during the draft process. Our scouts were excited about him right from the start."
Garrett says the staff referred to Leighton as the "Wolf Hunter" during the recruiting process. He says they try to identify prospects by specific names so they stand out.
"Everybody we talked to kind of said the same thing, that he's the kind of young man, the kind of player he is, we saw it on the tape, the more we got to know him the more we liked him."
"We are excited to bring Leighton here because we think he's going to be a great football player for our team for a long time."