Gholston's hard work will payoff bigtime

It takes a lot to impress hardboiled pro football scouts, but in just 4.58 seconds at his pro day, Vernon Gholston did just that. It took him only 4.58 seconds to run the 40 yard dash. That is a fairly good time for a running back. But Gholston is no running back—he is a 6-3 266 pound defensive end/outside linebacker preparing for the NFL draft in late April. He followed that performance up with a 42” vertical jump further proving his athleticism.

Gholston probably earned himself between 5 and 20 million dollars in less than 5 seconds. That is the difference in the first contracts for those that are drafted in the first six choices as compared to those that are selected in choices 7-12.

Gholston is a perfect fit for any type of defense. Even at 266. which is about twenty pounds light for the position, he has the strength to do a good job of holding the point of attack in a 4-3 defense which about half of the NFL teams play. He certainly is capable of putting on 10-15 pounds of muscle for a team that wants that.

However, he is much more valuable as an outside linebacker/defensive end in a 3-4 defense. There are very few players that have a size/speed combination like Gholston. Anything that big that moves that fast should have the words “US AIR FORCE” stenciled on the side. Some scouts compare Gholston to the former rookie of the year Demarcus Ware who plays for the Dallas Cowboys. But Gholston is faster than Ware and should be even a better combo-linebacker/DE. Ware had a steeper learning curve because he had played a more pure DE position at Troy. He also had to become used to a higher level of competition. Gholston has proven his value at the highest level of college football including playing well in the last two national championship games. Gholston has been used in different roles including covering receivers in the zone blitz schemes that OSU regularly uses.

Scouts have seen players that are “work out warriors.” These players run fast and jump high in t-shirts and shorts. But when you put shoulder pads and helmets on them, they tend to disappear. As the saying goes “he may look like Tarzan but he plays like Jane.”

But the scouts that attended the OSU pro day have seen Gholston go around Jake Long (the #1 left tackle in the 2008 draft from Michigan) like street lamp to sack the Blue's QB. The eye in the sky (coach's tape) does not lie. There is no doubt that Gholston is the real thing.

As a result of his workout, he may be drafted before Chris Long of Virginia, the top rated DE in the draft. Regardless of where he goes, he will be a better pro than Long. According to recent news reports, Miami who holds the first pick has started to negotiate with the agent for Gholston and one other player's representative.

by Bill Smith
BigTen-fans.com Guest Writer

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com and has published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm