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.
Senior offensive tackle Kirk Barton also had a strong day. Characterized as a tough guy with marginal athleticism throughout his career, Barton raised eyebrows with a 4.95 40. The sub-five-second 40 was the first scouts have seen from Barton, as the four-year starter was limited at the combine due to a knee sprain suffered at the Senior Bowl.
The fastest time recorded by any offensive lineman in Indianapolis was the 4.99 by Rutgers' Jeremy Zuttah. Barton, while not running the 40 at the combine, showed impressive strength there, ranking among this year's strongest men with 34 repetitions of 225 pounds.
Rob Rang is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.
