DE Vernon Gholston (Official Thread)

[rocketman]

I would love to see the Bengals trade up to get Vern. It's about damn time we stop wasting our first round pick on crappy scUM players.

 

[cjmik_75]

I don't think he lasts past pick 4 with the silver and black, with a good chance of going top 3. He and Run DMC really helpedthemselves.

That's what I said to a scUMmer I work with yesterday. He begrudgingly agreed

 

[osucollegebuck]

I would love to see the Bengals trade up to get Vern. It's about damn time we stop wasting our first round pick on crappy scUM players.

Thats why you should root for the Ohio State team in the NFL. Go Bills!!!

 

[HundedLane]

Collegefootballnews.com

under the Who's Hot!

Vernon Gholston, DE Ohio State
There's nothing Gholston could've done to surpass Long as the top defensive end prospect in Indy, but he gave it a great shot. At 6-4 and 258 pounds, almost 20 pounds lighter than Long, the former Ohio State star was third among all defensive lineman with a 4.67 40 while leading the way with a vertical jump of 35.5" and in the broad jump with a leap of 10'5". While he proved he's athletic enough to be used as a an outside linebacker/defensive end hybrid, depending on the situation and the scheme, he crushed what was considered his one main weakness, that he might struggle at the point of attack by stronger tackles, by ripping off 37 reps of 225 on the bench press. Not only did he lead all the defensive linemen, he tied Michigan OT Jake Long for the most reps at the entire Combine. He went from being anywhere from a seven to 20 pick on draft boards to a sure-thing top ten selection.

 

[Buckeye86]

he crushed what was considered his one main weakness, that he might struggle at the point of attack by stronger tackles

sometimes you have to wonder if these people even watch football games

 

[Dryden]

ESPN Premium/Insider Article:

ESPN - Long, Gholston show why they're the top defensive linemen - NFL

Good read, but there's an even better comment to it after the article:

Gholston is the guy the jets need at the sixth pick. But i guess after his combine, he will be gone. Once again, in a 5 player draft (long, long, mcfadden, dorsey, gholston), the jets have the sixth pick. good job of winning the last game of the year against the chiefs. it really meant a lot to the orgnanization. i guess we will draft the best tight end with the sixth pick.

 

[Apache]

Freak of Nature Plus Hard Work

Vernon Gholston is simply a stud. He worked his tail off and had the support of family, coaches and support people in his life. I watched him play and there were times that he flat out ran over, around and through people. Goodness. To all of the Ohio State Buckeyes-Good Luck on draft day.

:osu:

 

[BB73]

This free BN article includes some detailed scouting reports on Vernon, and compares him to John Abraham of Atlanta.

bucknuts

Small Contingent Of Buckeyes Return From NFL Combine

Most years there are double-digit Ohio State players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. However, this time around, only three former Buckeyes made the trip. Defensive end Vernon Gholston stole the show with his performance, while offensive lineman Kirk Barton and linebacker Larry Grant turned in solid performances. Barton was limited in what he could do because of a knee injury.

Cont'd ...

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

After the combine, I don't see how folks still think Chris Long is a better DE than Gholston. I guess having a famous daddy is good for something...

 

[SNIPER26]

After the combine, I don't see how folks still think Chris Long is a better DE than Gholston. I guess having a famous daddy is good for something...

Long had a pretty goddamn good senior year. 79 tackles, 14 sacks, 19 TFL isn't exactly anything to sneeze at especially considering he was a 3-4 DE, which isn't exactly a pass rusher's dream if he wants to rack up stats.

Gholston is also being projected by many as a 3-4 OLB, which could be some reason for the opinion that Long is a better DE. Gholston is probably best suited for the 3-4 OLB with his rush defense deficiencies. Long is a more complete DE, Gholston the better pass rusher, hence the 3-4 talk.

 

[SNIPER26]

Gholston impressed a lot at the Combine, but so did Long.

Comparison:

40: Gholston wins 4.67 to 4.75
Bench: Gholston wins 35 to ??? I think Long sat out the bench..
Vertical: Gholston wins 35.5 to 34
Broad: Gholston wins 10'5" to 10'4"
3 cone: Long wins 7.02 to 7.12
20 yard shuttle: Long wins 4.21 to 4.40
60 yard shuttle: N/A

Gholston wins 4-2 (assuming Long doesn't bench 35) but Long was very close in a lot of areas.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Long had a pretty goddamn good senior year. 79 tackles, 14 sacks, 19 TFL isn't exactly anything to sneeze at especially considering he was a 3-4 DE, which isn't exactly a pass rusher's dream if he wants to rack up stats.

Offensive scheme and quality of opposition determine a DE's stats as much as anything. I'd like to think that playing against ACC opposition helped Long out. Gholston had similar numbers in behind-the-LOS tackles (14 sacks, 15.5 TFL) despite having far less total tackles. The reason why Long had more tackles is that having only 3 DL vice 4 DL means the number of tackles was being split between 3 DL instead of 4 DL...also, Long didn't have a killer corps of LBs coming up and making stops at/behind the LOS like Gholston had. Long had 79 tackles, of which 19 were TFL (24%). Gholston had 37 tackles, of which 15.5 were TFL (42%). It's pretty easy to see who was in the opposition's backfield more often and was more disruptive...

 

[jwinslow]

After the combine, I don't see how folks still think Chris Long is a better DE than Gholston. I guess having a famous daddy is good for something...

Run defense.

I'd like to think that playing against ACC opposition helped Long out.

A lot less playmakers to account for on UVA's defense.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Run defense.

See my above post...

 

[SNIPER26]

Offensive scheme and quality of opposition determine a DE's stats as much as anything. I'd like to think that playing against ACC opposition helped Long out. Gholston had similar numbers in behind-the-LOS tackles (14 sacks, 15.5 TFL) depsite having far less total tackles. The reason why Long had more tackles is that having only 3 DL vice 4 DL means the tackles are being split between 3 DL instead of 4 DL...also, Long didn't have a killer corps of LBs coming up and making stops at/behind the LOS like Gholston had. Long had 79 tackles, of which 19 were TFL (24%). Gholston had 37 tackles, of which 15.5 were TFL (42%). It's pretty easy to see who was in the opposition's backfield more often...

That tackles being split between 3 doesn't really make sense. 3-4 DL are usually supposed to be space-eaters and tie up blockers for the LBs to come up and make the tackles. Basically, being a 4-3 DE is more conducive to statistics, whereas 3-4 ends are usually doing the dirty work and the LBs racking up the tackles.