Chris Long and Vernon Gholston compared to the other '08 DL/LB

[Breed]

Chris Long and Vernon Gholston compared to the rest of the DL/LB class

Chris Long was playing DE in a 3-4 defense, where he was being double teamed on virtually every play, and often triple teamed. Gholston had a much better supporting cast on defense and Long still outperformed him.

Secondly, the shuttle indicates "sideline to sideline" speed while the 40 is just long speed. How many times have you ever seen a DL/LB need to run 40 or more yards? The vast majority of the time, that DL/LB is covering a range of no greater than 20 yards. Hell, even if you are a big fan of the 40, Gholston was .08 of a second faster than Long despite being 6 pounds lighter than Long.

Shuttle times from yesterday:
Stanford Keglar: 3.98 (239 pounds)
David Vobora: 4.14 (236 pounds)
Chris Long: 4.21 (272 pounds)
Ben Moffitt: 4.21 (234 pounds)
Curtis Gatewood: 4.22 (245 pounds*)
Larry Grant: 4.22 (235 pounds)
Jason Jones: 4.23 (273 pounds)
Bryan Kehl: 4.23 (242 pounds)
Jeremy Thompson: 4.23 (264 pounds)
Mike Humpal: 4.25 (244 pounds)
Wesley Woodyard: 4.25 (227 pounds)
Jonathan Goff: 4.26 (245 pounds)
Philip Wheeler: 4.29 (248 pounds)
Jerod Mayo: 4.29 (242 pounds)
Derrick Harvey: 4.36 (271 pounds)
Vernon Gholston: 4.40 (266 pounds)
Bryan Smith: 4.40 (231 pounds)
Quentin Groves: 4.42 (259 pounds)

*estimated

The 2nd most important drill is the 3 cone drill, here are the test results from yesterday, from those who participated:

Stanford Keglar: 6.70 (239 pounds)
Ben Moffitt: 6.75 (234 pounds)
Larry Grant: 6.77 (235 pounds)
Jonathan Goff: 6.86 (245 pounds)
Bryan Kehl: 6.88 (242 pounds)
Cliff Avril: 6.90 (253 pounds)
Curtis Gatewood: 6.90 (245 pounds*)
Jeremy Thompson: 6.97 (264 pounds)
David Vobora: 6.99 (236 pounds)
Jordan Dizon: 7.01 (229 pounds)
Chris Long: 7.02 (272 pounds)
Chase Ortiz: 7.03 (249 pounds)
Mike Humpal: 7.07 (244 pounds)
Gary Guyton: 7.07 (245 pounds)
Kroy Biermann: 7.08 (308 pounds)
Lawrence Jackson: 7.08 (271 pounds)
Philip Wheeler: 7.11 (248 pounds)
Vernon Gholston: 7.12 (266 pounds)
Bryan Smith: 7.22 (231 pounds)
Derrick Harvey: 7.27 (271 pounds)

*estimated

Vertical jump:
Derrick Harvey: 38.5 (271 pounds)
Gary Guyton: 36.5 (245 pounds)
Vernon Gholston: 35.5 (266 pounds)
Tavares Gooden: 35 (234 pounds)
Marcus Howard: 34.5 (237 pounds)
Chris Long: 34 (272 pounds)
Bryan Kehl: 34 (242 pounds)
Stanford Keglar: 34 (239 pounds)
Alvin Bowen: 34 (223 pounds)
Louis Holmes: 32.5 (263 pounds)
Cliff Avril: 32.5 (253 pounds)
Ben Moffitt: 32.5 (234 pounds)
Bryan Smith: 32.5 (231 pounds)
Jeremy Thompson: 32 (264 pounds)
Jerod Mayo: 32 (242 pounds)
Kroy Biermann: 31.5 (308 pounds)
Jonathan Goff: 31.5 (245 pounds)
Larry Grant: 31.5 (235 pounds)
Lawrence Jackson: 31 (271 pounds)
Philip Wheeler: 31 (248 pounds)
Erin Henderson: 31 (244 pounds)
Mike Humpal: 31 (244 pounds)
Trevor Laws: 30.5 (304 pounds)
Angelo Craig: 30.5 (252 pounds)
Kenwan Palmer: 29 (308 pounds)
Nick Hayden: 27 (291 pounds)
DeMario Pressley: 25.5 (301 pounds)
Carlton Powell: 22.5 (292 pounds)

Broad Jump:
Gary Guyton: 10"6" (245 pounds)
Stanford Keglar: 10"6" (239 pounds)
Vernon Gholston: 10"5" (266 pounds)
Chris Long: 10"4" (272 pounds)
Jason Jones: 10"3" (273 pounds)
Ben Moffitt: 10"3" (234 pounds)
Louis Holmes: 10"1" (263 pounds)
Quentin Groves: 10"0" (259 pounds)
Bryan Smith: 10"0" (231 pounds)
Mike Humpal: 9"11" (244 pounds)
Bryan Kehl: 9"11" (242 pounds)
Alvin Bowen: 9"11" (223 pounds)
Angelo Craig: 9"10" (252 pounds)
Philip Wheeler: 9"10" (248 pounds)
Jonathan Goff: 9"10" (245 pounds)
Steve Octavien: 9"10" (238 pounds)
Tavares Gooden: 9"10" (234 pounds)
Jordan Dizon: 9"10" (229 pounds)
Wesley Woodyard: 9"10" (227 pounds)
Cliff Avril: 9"9" (253 pounds)
Jeremy Thompson: 9"9" (264 pounds)
Chris Harrington: 9"9" (264 pounds)

Long has a very good wingspan, great athleticism for his size and is a great technician. What's not to like?

 

[Geforce]

Just for the record, Gholston played the "Leo" or drop end position. The means he also dropped into coverage and did not simply rush the passer all the time.

 

[Breed]

Just for the record, Gholston played the "Leo" or drop end position. The means he also dropped into coverage and did not simply rush the passer all the time.

Did Gholston even have any deflected passes or interceptions? Depending on how much he dropped back into coverage, that would be a bit of a red flag to me.

 

[Geforce]

Did Gholston even have any deflected passes or interceptions? Depending on how much he dropped back into coverage, that would be a bit of a red flag to me.

He had no passes defended or interceptions. However, he only gave up one first down via pass in his territory. Four first downs in his territory total.

 

[Vertical Limit]

It's amazing the numbers Long put on his size/weight. The guy is an absolute beast.