ChiefsPlanet - NFL Draft Good Article On GHOLTSON.

Top prospect Gholston had to grow up fast
Click-2-Listen
By TIM GRAHAM

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Every time he cradled him, his father was easier to pick up.

The son, barely sprouting facial hair, grew stronger. Dad became progressively weaker.

Vernon Nelson's body was withering because of an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis. Unable to move, he relied on his oldest boy to lift him from bed and ease him into a chair.

Nelson caught a cold, developed pneumonia and died in December 1999. He was 48.

The son was 13. Already physically impressive enough to be mistaken for an adult, Vernon Gholston suddenly had to be a man - taking care of himself and his little brother in Detroit while their mother, Cheryl, worked the General Motors assembly line.

"I always worked the afternoon shift so I could make sure my boys got to school in the morning, make sure they got home from school," Cheryl Gholston said. "From then on, Vernon was in charge."

Vernon Gholston now is 21, and to say he's all grown up would be an understatement.

Gholston is a 6-foot-4, 258-pound pass rusher from Ohio State who soon will become a multi-millionaire. Saturday, at the NFL Draft in New York, he'll learn which team will sign his checks.

Gholston is among the select group of six college players the NFL invited to attend the draft at Radio City Music Hall. As much as scouts and draft experts marvel at Gholston's sculpted body, they also praise his maturity.

The source of that composure is something not often discussed.

"It made me better, having to look after my brother," Gholston said. Brandon Gholston, 19, is studying mental health at Wayne County Community College in Michigan.

"It made me a more responsible and disciplined person," the older brother continued. "These are all the attributes that have helped me in football, to make me work hard and study my playbook and want to get better.

"It also was being a responsible adult off the field. A lot of kids come to college are just that, doing a lot of things and getting trouble."

Unless there is a stunning trade, Gholston won't be a member of the Dolphins. They dedicated the No. 1 selection to Gholston's collegiate nemesis, Michigan tackle Jake Long.

There is a chance their personal rivalry will continue. Two of Miami's AFC East foes - the New York Jets and New England Patriots - own the sixth and seventh picks and run the 3-4 defense, a scheme in which Gholston could thrive as a hybrid end.

"I don't think he drops past seventh," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said.

Gholston had 22 1/2 sacks in the past two seasons, more than any other collegian, but some people wondered if he was wise to leave the Buckeyes a year early.

His stock soared in February at the NFL scouting combine. Test scores were outstanding. His interviews were striking.

He worked out again for several teams, including the Dolphins, in March at Ohio State and left scouts impressed with improved scores. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds and made a 42-inch vertical jump.

Some forecasters insist that Gholston, albeit not as polished, has a brighter future than Virginia end Chris Long, considered by many the best defensive player in the draft.

"Gholston is the same kind of freakish athlete at his position that (Arkansas running back Darren) McFadden is at his position," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said.
Jake Long also gushed over Gholston. "Playing against him is nuts," Long said. "He's so strong, so fast he's insane."
Gholston didn't grow up a football fan. He was into basketball and wrestling. His favorite obsession, however, was weightlifting. He claimed he got into pumping iron when he was 13 because he thought he had a gut.

But his mother said he was driven at least partially by watching his father struggle.

"He knew MS wasn't hereditary," Cheryl Gholston said, "but he could see his father's body deteriorate from it."

Even before his father died, Vernon Gholston hit his growth spurt.

"When Vernon turned 11 he shot up from a little, skinny boy," his mother said. "His body just totally changed."

She recalled boarding a Caribbean cruise when Vernon was 14 - she enjoyed taking her sons on trips to make up for all those hours she worked - and watching a waiter hand him a cocktail.

Then there was the day Cass Technical High football coach Thomas Wilcher, a former Michigan running back, first saw Gholston in the school hallway. Wilcher asked if Gholston was looking for his child.

Wilcher persuaded Gholston to play football by his sophomore year. Gholston's inexperience made the adjustment frustrating.

Wilcher has spoken of Gholston's early inability to understand the game's violent tendencies. So Gholston played guard his first two seasons. He was switched to linebacker as a senior and earned all-state honors.

Gholston's father never envisioned his sons playing football, but his fanciful imagination proved pretty accurate.

"When I just found out I was pregnant, Vernon's father joked how he always wanted two sons and they were going to play basketball and buy us a big house one day," Cheryl Gholston said. "He'd say ÎI'm going to take care of my boys, and one day they're going to take care of me.' "

Gholston did take care of his father, although much sooner than a boy should.

Now he'll have the opportunity to provide for his mother, who assumed the role of both parents at home and punched a factory time clock to keep her family together.

"My mom's taken care of me," Gholston said. "Anything I needed — or thought about needing — she tried to provide. She did the best she could.

"Now I'm in a position where I can help her. I don't have a limit when it comes to my family."

Link: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localne...4gholston.html