There’s no denying the impressive physique and workout numbers that have been posted by Ohio State defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston. But some league insiders are concerned that Gholston might be this year’s Mike Mamula.
Mamula, you might remember, was a defensive end who rocketed up the draft board based on incredible pre-draft numbers. The Boston College product made it all the way to No. 7 in 1995, jumping past guys like Joey Galloway and Warren Sapp and Hugh Douglas and Ty Law. But Mamula was a bust as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and he has long since been out of the league.
As to Gholston, a league source tells us Gholston simply isn’t memorable when watching game film. As the thinking goes, if he were a dominant player at the college level, he would be showing up in the thick of things on a continuous basis. Per the source, he simply doesn’t.
We’ve recently heard that the Raiders could be targeting Gholston with the No. 4 overall selection. But plenty of league insiders don’t see him being a top-five selection.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Todd McShay shared similar sentiments on SportsCenter this morning. He called Gholston the most overrated player in the draft.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
maybe vernon shouldn’t be as highly projected in the draft, but he is certainly relevant. not sure who’s watching the game tape but vernon was almost always creating pressure/havoc where ever he was on the field. he’s best fit for an OLB in a 3-4 - trust me, he’ll make some noise! and by the way, the GM’s of the NFL are in their positions for a reason & sports writer’s are in their position for a reason. it’s easy to be an armchair quarterback, but really sucessful GM’s take risks…
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Raiders reach for a player based on workouts rather than on-field performance? Shocker.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I think he will be safer pick than Chris (boy am I glad my Dads in the HOF) Long. Chris long and Dominick Rogers Cromartie are two prospects that will go high because of there name. I am not saying they won’t be good pros, just they will never live up to there Top 10-15 draft status. Mabey rounds 2 or 3 if there names where Chris Jones and Dominick Smith.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
i bet jake long doesn’t think he is this years mike mamula. he probably is overvalued in a draft year with a weak top 10, but c’mon, mike mamula?
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Vernon Gholston is an excellent player, and I think he’ll have a fine career.
Something I’ve been wondering a tiny bit is allllll this hype for Jake Long. Remember how no one could go wrong with Robert Gallery? Now, it’s not like I watch film of offensive lineman, but is it possible that long is overrated?
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
“Gholston was one of two people to record a quarterback sack against two-time consensus All-American Jake Long in Long’s NCAA career.”
There is also a YouTube video out there where Gholston absolutely schools Long in a QB hurry.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Mike - your homies at SN agree… in their draft guide he’s the #5 DE.
I think Parcells is ‘negotiating’ with him hoping to drive up his value so that some dumb team falls for it and drafts him high.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Where was Mike Mamula projected before the combine? If I remember correctly, many mock drafts, including Todd McShay’s from January 23rd, still had Gholston going in the top ten (McShay had him 6th to the Jets). However, his mock prior, on January 16th, had him 27th. But still in the first round. I don’t think many had heard of Mamula before the combine. He definitely wasn’t considered a 1st rounder. So why I understand the comparison, I also don’t think it’s fair. And there have been other cases of players making meteoric rises, and then the rise being justified. One quick example is Edgerrin James, who was initially considered a late first rounder, but ended up going 4th, ahead of Ricky Williams.
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April 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Remember Mike Mamula? I still have the nightmares…
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I agree w/TCLARK, Chris Long is the most overrated. Everyone assumes that he can change from a 34 DE to 34 OLB.
At least Gholston is used to dropping in coverage.
Similar to when Jacksonville took Matt Jones in the 1st round because he was tall and fast. Nevermind the fact that he never played WR.
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I have always thought he is Vernon Davis or David Boston, in Defensive End form. Jury is still out on Davis but a freakish athlete isn’t the prototypical player.
I hope the Jets draft him. They would then have about $37M guaranteed tied up in two DE’s that haven’t really proved much yet. And $20+M on a 34 year old guard.
McShay may have someone going high in a mock draft, but still rate him the 5th best DE in the draft. The Mock Draft is intended to project who will take who and when, not how good they are.
Somebody out there is stupid enough to draft Matt Ryan and Gholston early. It won’t be Miami. Parcells just wants to make the Pats and Jets think he is high on Gholston.
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
the best way to judge guys is against the talent from the previous year’s draft whenever possible. Vernon Gholston wouldn’t be drafted higher than Gaines Adams. Did anybody watch Adams this past season? Didn’t exactly light it up. Sure they are both young but pass rushers lose confidence quickly. Unless you come in like Jevon Kearse or Julius Peppers and thrive right away, it’s tough to adjust and bounce back with limited snaps
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Parcells doesn’t realy need to be slick…the Dolphins pick first and Miami already know that no one in this draft is worth trading up to get. It may be like the Texans back with Mario Williams and Reggie Bush where they are just trying out different contract scenarios. I personally don’t think Ghoulston is worth the #1 pick, my guess is they go with Jake Long
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April 11th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
The comparisons aren’t that far off - Mamula did have 17 sacks for BC the year he came out, and played at about the same size as Gholston (250 vs 255). Easy to say now that Mamula was a huge bust at #7, but he did have 31 1/2 sacks in 5 seasons before retiring from injuries - and he was never moved to linebacker where he probably would have been more effective at that weight. Teams might remember Mamula (and maybe Gholston) for something else, as they got Philly to trade up to the 7th the picks that would become Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks (after Tampa Bay traded back up in the first with Philly’s later picks)
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The only thing relevant about reports like these at this time of the year is the speculation as to what ulterior motives this report’s source(s) might have.
Two weeks before the draft team sources either lie about someone being good or lie about someone being bad.
Telling the truth leading into the draft doesn’t strike me as a common practice. (Uh-oh, now I’ve done it… watch Roger Goodell announce a major crackdown on lying in the NFL now.)
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
uh, didn’t Gholston have the same number of sacks and tie for the national lead with Chris Long?
how did those 14 sacks look on tape?
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
sounds like your source has a vested interest in him dropping past the raiders. Hmm, perhaps a Jets or Bengals scout?
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Hey MikeinCharlotte. Why would the Pats or the Jets give a crap about what Parcells thinks. The Pats are widely know to do their own thing they dont care what any other team does. Proactive not reactive. Thats why we’ve won 3 championships and have had a sick team the whole time.
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April 11th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Some of those scouts need to watch this years Ohio State Michigan game. Gholston destroyed Jake Long. Long looked overmatched the entire game and needed help with Gholston throughout the second half. Not too bad considering McShay went on to say that the Dolphins needed to take Jake Long with number one pick.
That makes sense.
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April 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I love how everyone brings up the fact that he got a sack against Jake Long. Just like the article says he disappeared for most the season and had two big games. The guy only had 30 something tackles for the season. Just because he ate up Jake Long doesn’t mean anything. Even great Tackles get beat once in awhile. That is as weaaaaaak of an argument if I’ve ever heard one. Ya he has great physical tool and I would still probably take the guy at number 7 but he definitely is getting over hyped.
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April 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I agree with your source. USC LB Keith Rivers is the head of this LB class. While Gholston has the physicality and athleticism to be one of the best in the game he is inconsistent in his play. Sometimes he is dominating, other times he is non-existent.
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April 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
So if Gholston is a bust, and Long is a fluke, and the other Long is overrated, and Rogers-Cromartie is riding name association, who is left for the Fins in ronund one? Ryan Clady?
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April 11th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Keith Rivers, now there’s Mike Mamula. There’s a guy who does not stand out on tape. Has anybody noticed USC has turned out a bunch of colossal underachievers under Pete Carroll.
Pete’s laid back atmosphere may be great for recruiting but once these guys get to the pros and can no longer get by simply on athletic ability, they fall flat. They’re soft.
Scouts will salivate over Rivers workouts and pass on a guy who will be a tackling machine, Dan Connor.
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April 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I just looked up Mike Mamula. He wasn’t THAT bad.
It says he was a DE/LB. The NFL didn’t really record tackles as a stat until the early 2000’s, so he has no stats for tackles. But this jumped out at me.
But in 5 seasons, he had 31.5 sacks. Are those elite numbers? Not by any means… but averaging 6 sacks a season as a hybrid DE/LB isn’t too shabby.
I understand where this was going, but he could have picked someone else other than Mike Mamula as the typical ‘workout warrior’.
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