DE Vernon Gholston (Official Thread)

[jwinslow]

OSU

Pro Day Quotes

Vernon Gholston
On the potential of being a Top 10 pick
"I am not surprised with my performances. I have been working hard. It's what you put in it to get what you get out of it." On the draft
"I want to go as high as I can go. I know what I can do. I feel my numbers are good enough. It was a good day."
On leaving Ohio State
"I love being here. It's going to be interesting to get myself established with a new team and a new organization."

 

[Buckskin86]

Gholston, Barton happy with pro-day performances
Friday, March 7, 2008 6:53 PM
By Tim May

Vernon Gholston turned in a performance this afternoon that likely enhanced the outgoing Ohio State defensive end's chances of being among the top 10 picks of next month's NFL draft.

At the Buckeyes' annual pro day, where draft eligible players workout for NFL coaches and scouts, Gholston ran a consensus 4.58-second 40-yard dash. That was about a half-second better than he had run last month at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Even though a 4.6 is considered excellent for a defensive end, Gholston gambled that he would do better on his home turf after working for several weeks with OSU strength and conditioning coordinator Eric Lichter.

"A lot of the times I saw (coming out of Indy) were around the 4.6 range, and I know I wasn't in that range; 4.5 was what I wanted to push for," said Gholston, who also popped a personal-best 42-inch standing vertical jump. "It was going out there and showing that I can do that."

He did it, even though he felt a tweak in a hamstring in the midst of his sprint.

"I felt it kind of pull a little bit after 20, and I kind of had a little slowdown," Gholston said, smiling.

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Gholston, Barton happy with pro-day performances

 

[Buckskin86]

Defensive end Vernon Gholston, who turned in one of the best workouts at last month's combine, wanted to show that it wasn't a one-time feat.

Both accomplished their goals Friday during OSU's Pro Day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Barton was so thrilled afterward, he vowed to buy dinner for Eric Lichter, the Buckeyes' director of football performance.

Projected as a top 10 pick in the April 26 draft, Gholston, 6-foot-3 and 266 pounds, ran the 40 in 4.58 seconds and said he slowed down after 20 yards because he felt something in the hamstring he first pulled Monday. He also hit 42 inches in the vertical jump, getting ''more leg explosion.''

Pro scouts were buzzing in Indianapolis after Gholston, who said he will work out for the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets on Monday, ran the 40 in 4.67 seconds (third among defensive linemen) and topped his position group with a 351/2-inch vertical.

Asked why he ran again, Gholston said, ''A lot of the times I saw were in the 4.6 range and I know I wasn't in that range; 4.5 is what I wanted to push for.''

That didn't surprise Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.

''He's a very competitive person,'' Heacock said. ''He wants to do the drills because he's not satisfied with what he did, even though everyone else told him he excelled.''

Ohio.com - Gholston, Barton shine at workout

 

[Buckskin86]

Gholston's vertical could help him leap into top five
March 8, 2008
By Rob Rang
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

Vernon Gholston's stock is soaring. How high? Precisely 42 inches.

Representatives from nearly every NFL team battled a snowstorm to view Ohio State's pro day, and the estimated 50 scouts in attendance were quickly distracted from the cold weather outside. If they had not been staggered by Gholston's speed and explosiveness based on his film, they certainly had to be when he stole the show Friday -- churning out a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and 42-inch vertical jump at 6-3, 266 pounds.

Only two defensive linemen -- Purdue's Cliff Avril (4.51) and Auburn's Quentin Groves (4.57) -- ran faster at the combine. Avril and Groves are projected as linebackers by teams. Gholston played outside linebacker early in his career with the Buckeyes and has the athleticism to return to the position in the pros, but most scouts view him as a classic pass-rushing defensive end.

That Gholston even elected to work out in Columbus came as a bit of a surprise. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year already had legitimized his stock as a top 10 prospect with a strong effort at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month. The junior defensive end was timed at 4.67 in the 40, and topped out at 35.5 inches in the vertical jump.

In working out again for scouts, however, Gholston showed his competitive nature. In improving each of his numbers significantly, he may have jumped into top-five consideration. In fact, some scouts leaving the workout questioned if Gholston hadn't leaped ahead of Virginia's Chris Long as the top defensive end in the draft.

Long, considered by many scouts to be the safest pick in the entire class, is a better player than Gholston now, due to Long's rare technique and instincts, but scouts contend that he isn't the same caliber of athlete as Gholston. As one scout leaving the workout characterized it: "With Long, you have a finished product. Gholston is an ascending talent. In a few years, he could really be something."

Considering the talent that comes out of Columbus each year, Gholston wasn't the only Buckeye posting eye-popping numbers Friday.

National Football League - CBSSports.com

 

[Buckskin86]

Russ Lande
Draft Dish: Gholston gets mixed reviews at pro day
Posted: March 9, 2008

NFL personnel arrived at the Ohio State Pro Day excited about how DE Vernon Gholston would work out. He no doubt looks the part: very muscular and defined. Gholston impressed many when he ran his 40 on field turf instead of Ohio State's notoriously fast track, timing a 4.63 and a 4.65. Then jumped a 37-38 inch vertical; anyone who reports he jumped 42 inches has bad sources as the testing unit was slightly broken during his jump. Once on the field, though, Gholston was not nearly as impressive. He is so muscle-bound and big that he struggled to bend knees and sink hips, which hindered his ability to change directions in drills.

SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NFL Football stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from NFL Football columnists

 

[OregonBuckeye]

^I thought media weren't allowed at Pro Day?

 

[jwinslow]

They aren't allowed to watch. All of that can be gleaned by asking questions in the post-game interviews.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

They aren't allowed to watch. All of that can be gleaned by asking questions in the post-game interviews.

Right, that's what I thought. He seemed pretty cocky like he knew what Gholston's workout was actually like.

 

[jwinslow]

NFLDC

Official Bio

Strengths:
A terrific athlete...Good speed and quickness...Has a cut muscular physique...Very strong with good power...Has an outstanding motor...Does a solid job against the run...Has excellent range and is a terror in pursuit...Is able to get pressure off the edge or as a bull rusher...Good tackler...A hard worker with top intangibles...Very productive...Versatile and can play more than one position...Still has some upside.

Weaknesses:
Needs to be more consistent...Questionable awareness and instincts...Undersized if he were to play defensive end...Does not have a lot of experience dropping into coverage...Has some work to do when it comes to technique...May have to learn a new position at the pro level...At times he gets by on his natural ability...Does not have an elite burst...Some durability issues...A better athlete than football player?

Notes:
Could be either a 4-3 defensive end or a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL...Broke his left hand in the '05 season opener and redshirted...Beat Michigan's Jake Long for the only sack he surrendered as a senior..A workout warrior with rare physical tools but he was also very productive..Can be a Shawn Merriman type of player at the next level with some development..The best pure pass rusher in the '08 Draft.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

"Path To The Draft" videos.

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[MONTbigBuck]

Does anybody know what big Vern's max number's are for the squat and power-clean lifts?

 

[iambrutus]

Does anybody know what big Vern's max number's are for the squat and power-clean lifts?

i heard a rumor that he could squat a rack with all of the scum cheerleaders on there, that has to be at least 2000 lbs

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

i heard a rumor that he could squat a rack with all of the scum cheerleaders on there, that has to be at least 2000 lbs

2000 lbs? That can't be right. It must have just been the 5 skinniest chicks.

 

[BB73]

ozone

Q & A with Vernon Gholston
By Kevin Schlosser

Buckeye fans are quite familiar with Vernon Gholston; his physical presence and ability to disrupt any play made him hard to miss. A workout warrior and team leader, he made he made an impact on and off the field. Gholston made the decision to forego his final season of eligibility in January to enter the 2008 NFL draft and is looking forward to what comes next.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Vernon Gholston [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Photo by Jim Davidson [/FONT]

The last two months have been about preparing for the combine and he is now getting ready for the OSU pro day and the ensuing individual workouts. Originally projected as a mid first round pick, it would now be a surprise if Gholston dropped out of the ten. With continued hard work he hopes to move into the top five and could rise as high as number one.

...

On what the Wolverine fans say to him when he goes home:

"They can?t say anything about going to Ohio State because we won every year that I was here."

Cont'd ...

 

[vioravis]

SI.com - NFL - Tony Pauline: Risers, sliders from pro-day workouts - Friday March 14, 2008 12:15PM

Vernon Gholston, DE-OLB -- Ohio State
He continues to impress NFL decision-makers. He bettered many of his combine numbers on March 7 in Columbus with a 40 time of 4.56 seconds and a vertical jump of 42 inches. League insiders are now saying they would not be surprised if Bill Parcells uses the first pick of the draft to select Gholston, who has the best potential to be an impact defensive player.