Gholston leaves big hole at DE

But Ohio State has several talented players ready to take his spot.

COLUMBUS (AP) — When Vernon Gholston elected to give up his senior season at Ohio State to jump to the NFL draft, it left a sizable hole in the Buckeyes’ defensive line.

“We’re going to miss him a lot,” fellow defensive end Lawrence Wilson said. “I think he was the best defensive lineman in the country last year. You lose the best defensive lineman in the country, it takes a big toll on your defense.”

But it’s not as if the Buckeyes don’t have several players ready, willing and able to assume the position.

Wilson, for one. He was the starter at one of the end spots but then broke his right leg in the season-opener against Youngstown State and never returned. Now he’s back after a medical redshirt season, along with several others who are itching to get the chance to show what they can do.

“The fact we played a lot of guys last year really helps us this year,” said line coach and co-defensive coordinator Jim Heacock. “With Lawrence coming back — even though we do lose Vern — you’re still getting a guy back that has been a starter, who has a lot of playing experience. Going into last year we thought he was going to be a very strong defensive end for us, so having him back really helps.”

Heacock then lists those who will fill up the line in 2008: ends Wilson, Cameron Heyward, Rob Rose and Thaddeus Gibson, and tackles Doug Worthington, Todd Denlinger, Dexter Larimore and Nader Abdallah.

Gholston, the Big Ten’s defensive lineman of the year, was a second-team All-American in his second year as a starter whose 14 sacks were a school record.

He was a chunk of granite up front, but the Buckeyes have several acclaimed, although unproven, possibilities available.

“The 14 sacks, that’s the good news,” Heacock said.

“The bad news is, we’ve got to replace 14 sacks.”

Heacock figures the Buckeyes can make up for his absence with improved play out of the tackles, with Wilson putting together a strong comeback bid and Heyward adding to the knowledge he earned from being thrown out there a year ago as a freshman.

Ohio State had 43 sacks last season.

Spring workouts, as always, have led to some extravagant bits of optimism.

“We will get a lot more pressure [on the quarterback] this year,” Abdallah said.

“Losing Vern was a big loss for our defensive line but at the same time we have guys who are ready to step up.”

There is room for improvement on the line, particularly when you consider that the defensive tackles totaled nine fewer sacks than Gholston had all by himself.

“We’re all working on the pass rush,” said Denlinger.

“Inside guys had five sacks as a unit, whereas each one of us will probably have five sacks this year. There’s no reason we shouldn’t. We should triple or quadruple our numbers from last year.”

You can chalk that up to false bravado, youth or else an indication of how much talent the Buckeyes have.

No matter, Wilson’s return gives the Buckeyes a top-notch candidate at end.

He says he’s almost fully recovered from the broken leg and needs only to shake some of the rust out of his game to get back where he was before his injury.

Also, it wasn’t as if Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 274-pounder out of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, just sat around convalescing.

He took an active role in team meetings, pumping up teammates and helping to instruct the younger players.

All the while, he was working hard on rehab.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said.

“So I get two more years to better myself. I’m happy about it.”

And so are the Buckeyes.