Gholston Has the Spartan Nation Anticipating His Commitment!

Greg Jones made an impact at linebacker as a freshman for MSU. So did Oren Wilson on the defensive line. Even Chris L. Rucker made some waves on defense in the secondary as a young player.

 

So when William Gholston makes his decision where to go to college, Mark Dantonio won't have to stretch telling him freshman who can play see minutes in Pat Narduzzi's aggressive defense.

 

Gholston, a 6-foot-7 wonder kid from Detroit Southeastern who has become a regular face in East Lansing on unofficial visits, is arguably the top 2010 football prospect in the state of Michigan and one of the brightest stars in the Midwest as he prepares to enter his senior season. The young student-athlete is drawing national recruiting attention for both his potential and competitive attitude.

 

"Our practices, we do like game-time situations all the time," Gholston told Soartan Nation recently, "When it comes to conditioning, too, so you have to give it your all in order to be the best. … I want to be the best, I want my teammates to be the best."

 

His position, defensive end, is one reason Gholston is so coveted. An impact player rushing the edge can put a program over the top. In Dantonio's time, upperclassmen have filled the bill for MSU at D-end — Jonal St. Dic. Ervin Baldwin and Trevor Anderson have been the horses MSU has relied on for the past couple years. And so far, highly touted youngsters like Cameron Jude and Tyler Hoover, while progressing steadily, have not cracked the rotation yet.

 

So when a player the caliber of Gholston shows up in your backyard, and seems more than willing to take your recruitment seriously, you can excuse Green & White fans for having swim-move fantasies of third-and-longs to come. While Gholston's talent is obvious on film, his leadership qualities are perhaps what make him the caliber of recruit that vaults to the top of a coach's list.

 

"I'm used to being a leader," Gholston said, "and yeah, I get in your face, but it's not like — I want you to do as I do because I'm not going to give you a bad example."

 

With a non-stop motor, Gholston is a handful for even the best of high school offensive tackles. His size makes him an obvious target for offensive coordinators to game plan around, but regardless of how the other side treats him, Gholston strives to perform at the highest of levels.

 

"I'm not going to take a play off," he says, "so I don’t want you to take a play off because, and if you take a play off, it's frustrating to me because you say we all have the same values — alright, we have to live up to it. If you want to be the best, you want to win the state championship in high school, you can't take any plays off in practice because you are going to get used to it and take a play off in a game."

 

While recruiting has recently taken a backseat because of basketball season, when he says he was completely committed to helping his Southeastern teammates reach glory, Gholston says he tries to enjoy the recruiting process and meeting new people, like Spartan commit Max Bullough, who is helping the recruiting cause himself.

 

But as much as anything, Gholston realizes his potential is only as big as his ability to excel in school. His attention to detail in the classroom is a detail not lost on Spartan coaches. "Without the books, you can't go anywhere," Gholston says.Â