Football
Buckeyes Looking at Multiple Players to Replace Gholston's Productivity
By John Porentas

The early loss of defensive end Vernon Gholston to the NFL draft will leave some big shoes to fill along the OSU defensive line. Fortunately for OSU, the Buckeyes have four or six feet to fill the two big shoes that Gholston left empty.

OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is excited about the progress being made by two returners at defensive end and two newcomers. Cam Heyward is back at defensive end this spring after a surprisingly successful year as a freshman starter. Also back at practice is Lawrence Wilson who missed last season after suffering a broken leg in the season-opener. Wilson was expected to be one of OSU's best defenders last season and his loss was a real blow to the OSU defense.

Lawrence Wilson

"Soon as it happened I knew I would redshirt," said Wilson of his experience last season.

"I wasn’t too down about it. I just tried to keep encouraging my teammates because I knew the younger guys had to step in.

"I tried to help Cam (Heyward), tried to help the younger guys as best I can. I tried to help Rob (Rose). I couldn’t think about myself, I had to think about the team , helping my teammates."

This spring however Wilson is back on the football field and the early word is that at least physically he is right back where he was last year.

"I’m close to 100 percent. I feel real good right now," said Wilson.

Wilson is apparently not overstating that. His teammates have noticed it too.

"When we first came back we tested for 40s," said defensive lineman Doug Worthington.

"Lawrence is a very competitive guy in everything he does and he had one of the best 40s as far as defensive linemen by far. He was up there with some of the running backs and he still wasn’t too happy with it.

"A guy like that the sky is the limit in the way he plays. He’s physical. He’s dominant off the line. He’s definitely a football player. He has that physique and the mental capacity to play," Worthington said.

Wilson is back physically. The question that remains open is whether he is back as a football player.

"His speed is back, his power is back. Now it’s just getting him back into the football mindset," said defensive tackle Todd Denlinger.

"I missed the whole season," said Wilson.

"Nobody knows if I can still do the same things I used to do. I have to prove a lot. We have to prove a lot as D line, missing Vern, probably a top five draft pick. Somebody has to fill in that role. I’m going to try to do that.

"The first week of practice was kind of rough. I was a little rusty but it’s started to pick up a little bit. I’m starting to feel good.

"I’m doing everything. Trying to push myself to the limit."

Wilson is getting after it in spring ball, and there is no doubting his desire to be on the football field and excel. He was nearly ready to play last January when the Buckeyes played LSU in the national championship game. Wilson was so anxious to play last January that he almost blew his medical redshirt by going into the LSU game.

"I was pretty close," said Wilson.

"Before the game I actually knew I wasn’t going to play but once we got to warm-ups the juices started flowing. I actually second guessed myself: Should I run out there? Should I not?

It was all he could do to stay off the field.

"We were doing it day-to-day with practice, see how I feel. Practice the next day, see how it feels.

"They let it up to me depending on how I felt. Before the game I felt good for some reason, the adrenalin was rushing in me.

He was so tempted that he had to take some extreme steps.

"I hid my helmet from myself so I couldn’t find it," he said.

"I took it to the other bench (LSU), out behind there so if I went in I’d have to go find it. After the game I went back and got.

"I made the right decision. I wasn’t fully 100 percent for the game. I would have been favoring it. Now I have two more years."

Wilson isn't just healed after his injury season, he's actually a bit bionic and has tested the injured leg this spring.

"The doctors told me, I have a rod in it, so I can’t break it. It’s stronger than the other leg so I have no worries about it.

"Actually, Beanie hit it the first day, the first day we started hitting. I kind of got mad at him but it didn’t hurt too bad."

"I’m extremely eager. You watch the other guys and they’re doing well and you think when is it going to be my turn? It’s my turn now. I have to grasp the moment and do what I can to help the team out."

One observer who has more than just a passing interest in Wilson's comeback is defensive coordinator Jim Heacock. Heacock would like none better than for Wilson to return to form.

"I am anxious to see what he can do," said Heacock.

"I really thought he was set up to have a really good year last year. I thought he was a going to be a real cornerstone of the defense and he gave us a little bit of experience. He alternated with Jay Richardson the year before so he was the one guy coming back that had some experience.

"He’s really coming along. He’s getting his confidence back. It was kind of tough for him for a while because when you’re coming off a broken leg – that’s why we threw him in the bowl practice to kind of get it over with. He came back this spring and done real well. He’s practiced all four days and doing everything."

Aside from his physical skills, Wilson brings those always-important intangibles to the field.

"He gives you a little bit more emotional leadership. He’s excitable. He’s got a lot of passion for the game day. When he gets excited it gets everybody juiced up.

"The best thing to happen to him was practicing for the bowl game. I don’t know if anybody knew he had any type of chance (to play) but by throwing him into practices that was the hard part for him. But we got through that and by getting through that it really put him into the spring pretty much ready to go."

Cam Heyward
Photo by Jim Davidson

In addition to Wilson the Buckeyes are looking to Heyward to help fill the void left by the departure of Gholston. Heyward was pressed into duty last season with the injuries to Wilson and Rob Rose. The freshman performed better than anyone had the right to expect, and bigger and better things are expected of him this year.

"He had a good offseason, so that’s good," said Heacock.

"He did have a good freshman year for us. He filled in when we were in a little bit of trouble. He did a good job, a really good job. He played hard. You never have to worry about that. He’s matured a little bit. He’s a little more confident. Cameron’s expectation levels are out of the roof.

"He always expects himself to be perfect. Just like today, he said he had a terrible practice. I thought he had a good practice but he’s very critical of himself and that’s always good. He has high expectation levels. He plays hard. He’s a physical kid.

"We’ll move him around a little but like Kenny Peterson and Darrion Scott. We’ll play him at end. That will be his primary spot but we can certainly throw him inside on nickel downs like we did Kenny and Scott."

Thad Gibson

The newcomers to the mix to replace Gholston are Thad Gibson and Mark Johnson. Both have been moved to the Leo position (rush defensive end) from linebacker, and both are making big strides there.

"Thaddeus is a great kid," said Worthington.

"At first last year it took him a while to get used to the transition of playing defensive line.

"After he came up to it he was ready to play.

"He changed his number to number 90. He’s focused. He’s been in the weight room more than anybody. He’s at 255 right now. I’m looking for great things from Thaddeus.

"He’ll get after you," added Denlinger.

"It’s fun to watch him get after people. You’ll definitely see him on the field this year. We can drop him. We can rush him. He’s even strong enough where he can battle inside," Denlinger said.

Gibson has impressed his teammates, but more importantly, has also impressed his coach, and that will probably translate to playing time this fall.

"You'll see him a lot, he had a great offseason, he has to step up and be a pass rusher for us and I think he will," said Heacock.

Gibson and Johnson give Heacock exactly what he is looking for at the Leo position, and he likes having them both there to compete for the position and push each other.

"I think what we want is a guy who have that flexibility to drop into coverage and linebacker do that for a living, so linebackers are good to move there," said Heacock

"Both those guys when they drop they have a sense of it, guys who are defensive linemen look like fish out of water, I think it gives them a lot for light at the end of the tunnel (for playing time)," said Heacock.

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