02/23 — The defense arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine this morning. And right around noon, a player wearing the perhaps misleading code number of DL22 drew a crowd at the podium in the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Vernon Gholston is in the house.

Gholston is listed as a defensive lineman at the combine, and he was considered a DE at Ohio State. But OSU and college fans know he's more than that. He played the "Leo" position for the Buckeyes, so he was athletic and versatile enough to lead the team in sacks the past two seasons (22.5 total) yet also drop into coverage — which is how he snagged an interception last year vs. Bowling Green.

In fact, a question today about whether he was more comfortable playing up or down seemed to stump him. After a few seconds' pause, he concluded: "I'm comfortable with either one of them."

When pressed, he picked end over LB, giving a glimpse into the mindset that has turned him into one of the consensus top defensive picks, along with Virginia DE Chris Long and DTs Glenn Dorsey of LSU and Sedrick Ellis of Southern Cal, in April's draft.

"I love playing defensive end, getting after the quarterback and affecting the game that way," he said with his little laugh. "But at the end of the day, it's whatever the team puts me in."

Gholston's always had that athleticism, but he didn't always have football.

"I never really watched football as a kid," he said. "I watched basketball, I was a big wrestling fan, and I loved working out. Football was one of the ones that kind of slipped through the cracks."

But when a cut 6'2", 205-pound sophomore who doesn't put on the pads walks through the halls of his high school, it doesn't take long for the football coach to notice. That's how Tom Wilcher, the head coach at Cass Tech in Detroit, discovered Gholston in high school and turned him into an instant linebacker.

Now Gholston is 6'4" and 258 and he's just arrived at the combine. At his initial interview with reporters, he had yet to talk to any NFL teams, although he had about a dozen sessions set up for him, and yet to perform any drills. The young man who once squatted 455 pounds 20 times anticipated doing "about 35" reps in the 225-pound bench press.

The poignant question for every top draft pick who shows up in Indy this week is: How much will you be doing at the combine? Gholston's response:

"I'm planning on being fully active."

The team that ends up drafting him can express the same sentiments about Gholston's imminent pro career.