How good is Gholston?

A reminder on this one poster, forget the name, forget the day, forget the exact comment, remember the jist from a year ago: Will Gholston is a bust.

    This was said after Gholston played one year of college football, without the benefit of the redshirt year that most college linemen receive. It was a fantastically stupid comment then. But if you're a "five star" recruit and you play right away and don't star right away, some will wonder. After a very good sophomore season that ended with Gholston playing better than very good, the Gholston discussion has changed dramatically. All-American? Early-entry first rounder in 2013? Someone asked me the other day if he could win the Heisman in 2012.

    Perhaps things are going a bit overboard the other way, but as seen in Chris Solari's story today, Gholston's coaches aren't tempering the enthusiasm. They're trying him in different places to maximize what he can bring to the 2012 defense. If that first step is significantly better, as Pat Narduzzi indicated, Gholston should be able to shoot for double-digit sacks as a junior. In two MSU scrimmages, he has 15 tackles, seven for losses with three sacks. All team highs. The last time Gholston was seen in a real game, Georgia could not block him. Can he maintain that for a full season? And can Gholston and Marcus Rush play consistently well enough as an outside tandem to compensate for the loss of Jerel Worthy inside? In case you missed it, more on Gholston from ESPN.com's Brian Bennett.

    Also today, a look at MSU preferred walk-on Matt Macksood, a very familiar name in mid-Michigan after two seasons that saw him rack up 2,998 receiving yards for Lansing Catholic. I don't know what his 40 time is, but I'm pretty sure he can play football.