William Gholston
{{Short description|American football player (born 1991)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = William Gholston
| image = William Gholston - 2020 Playoffs - WFT vs. Buccaneers (51002019556) (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Gholston with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Defensive end
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|7|31|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lbs = 281
| high_school = Southeastern {{nowrap|(Detroit, Michigan)}}
| college = Michigan State (2010–2012)
| draftyear = 2013
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 126
| pastteams =
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers ({{NFL Year|2013}}–{{NFL Year|2024}})
| status = Active
| highlights =
- Super Bowl champion (LV)
- 2× Second-team All-Big Ten (2011, 2012)
- Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Defensive MVP (2012)
| statseason = 2024
| statweek = 6
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 427
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 20.5
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 3
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 3
| statlabel5 = Pass deflections
| statvalue5 = 14
| statlabel6 = Interceptions
| statvalue6 = 1
| pfr = G/GholWi00
}}
William Gholston (born July 31, 1991) is an American professional football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State, and was selected by the Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston, DE, Michigan State, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com |url=http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1737134 |access-date=November 3, 2013 |publisher=CBSSports.com}}
Early life
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Gholston attended Mumford High School in Detroit, where he was a USA Today High School All-American in 2008. For his senior year, he transferred to Southeastern High School.{{Cite web |last=Lesmerises |first=Doug |date=September 28, 2012 |title=Ohio State's Johnathan Hankins to see former high school teammate, Michigan State's William Gholston, when Buckeyes play Spartans on Saturday |url=http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2012/09/ohio_state_buckeyes_johnathan_1.html |access-date=November 3, 2013 |website=cleveland.com}} He recorded a career-best 115 tackles as a senior, with 44 resulting in losses including 7 sacks, and also forced 10 fumbles and blocked two punts.
Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the third best strong side defensive end in the nation.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston – Yahoo! Sports |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-William-Gholston-63255 |access-date=November 3, 2013 |publisher=Rivals.yahoo.com}} He accepted a scholarship from Michigan State University over offers from Michigan and Ohio State.
College career
Gholston enrolled in Michigan State University, and played for the Michigan State Spartans football team from 2010 to 2012.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston College Stats |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/william-gholston-1.html |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} As a freshman in 2010, he saw action in the first 10 games of the 2010 season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Minnesota. He recorded 13 tackles and five quarterback hurries. In 2011, he became a full-time starter for the Spartans. He led the Spartan defensive linemen with 70 tackles and finished tied for seventh in the Big Ten Conference with 16.0 tackles for loss (50 yards); that total also ranks tied for seventh in MSU single-season history, and he also was tied for 11th in the Big Ten with 5.0 sacks (30 yards). He tied a Spartan-bowl record with 5.0 tackles for loss (16 yards), including a career-best 2.0 sacks (10 yards), in the 33–30 triple overtime win against No. 18 Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl, and garnered all-conference second team honours. As a junior in 2012, he led the Spartan defensive linemen and ranked fourth on the team with 59 tackles. He also led the team and ranked eighth in the Big Ten with 13.0 tackles for loss (49 yards), and led the team with 4.5 sacks (24 yards).
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 6 1/4
| weight = 281
| dash = 4.96
| ten split = 1.75
| twenty split = 2.89
| shuttle = 4.59
| cone drill = 7.20
| vertical = 28.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 2
| bench = 23
| arm span = 34
| hand span = 10 3/8
| wonderlic =
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/william-gholston/32004748-4f40-5127-b856-6d0c9b2afa69 |title=William Gholston Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=January 8, 2022}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=107711&DraftYear=2013 |title=William Gholston, Michigan State, DE, 2013 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football |website=draftscout.com |access-date=January 8, 2022}}
}}
On January 3, 2013, Gholston announced he would forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft.{{Cite web |last=Mulholland |first=Mike |date=January 3, 2013 |title=Report: William Gholston becomes third Michigan State player to declare for NFL draft |url=http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2013/01/report_william_gholston_become.html |access-date=November 3, 2013 |publisher=MLive.com}} On April 27, 2013, Gholston was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round with the 126th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2013 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/draft.htm |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}} The Buccaneers previously acquired the pick used to select Gholston from the New England Patriots in a trade that sent Aqib Talib to New England. Gholston signed his contract on May 14, 2013, and his four-year deal is worth $2,560,544; it included a $400,544 signing bonus.
He finished his rookie season in 2013 as a rotational player earning 30 combined tackles (14 solo) and two quarterback sacks.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston 2013 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00/gamelog/2013/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
In 2014, he became the team's starter at left end for the defensive line when an injury to Adrian Clayborn put Clayborn on the IR list ending his season. He eventually lost the starting job to waiver wire pick up Jacquies Smith and was relegated to rotational duties for the remainder of the 2014 season. He finished the year with 41 combined tackles (27 solo) and two quarterback sacks.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston 2014 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00/gamelog/2014/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
Gholston played in all 16 games while starting 11 in 2015. He amassed 67 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble from his defensive end position.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston 2015 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00/gamelog/2015/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}} In 2016, he recorded 49 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston 2016 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00/gamelog/2016/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
file:William Gholston (51684900052) (cropped).jpg
On March 6, 2017, Gholston signed a five-year contract extension with the Buccaneers.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Scott |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Will Gholston Gets Five-Year Deal |url=http://www.buccaneers.com/news/article-smith/Will-Gholston-Gets-Five-Year-Deal/b8765519-82f6-46c9-a28d-859b80cc08e4 |website=Buccaneers.com}}{{Cite web |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=March 6, 2017 |title=William Gholston agrees to five-year Bucs extension |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/william-gholston-signs-five-year-bucs-contract-extension-0ap3000000790650 |access-date=March 12, 2021 |website=NFL.com}}
Gholston was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 4, 2020,{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Scott |date=November 4, 2020 |title=Buccaneers Place DL Will Gholston on Reserve/COVID-19 List |url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/buccaneers-place-dl-will-gholston-on-reserve-covid-19-list-roster-moves |access-date=December 2, 2020 |website=Buccaneers.com}} and activated three days later.{{Cite web |last=Easterling |first=Luke |date=November 7, 2020 |title=Bucs activate DL William Gholston from Reserve/COVID-19 list |url=https://bucswire.usatoday.com/2020/11/07/nfl-bucs-covid-19-william-gholston-activated/ |access-date=December 2, 2020 |website=USAToday.com}} Gholston played in all four games in the Buccaneers' playoff run that resulted in the team winning Super Bowl LV.{{Cite web |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=February 7, 2017 |title=What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/what-we-learned-from-buccaneers-win-over-chiefs-in-super-bowl-lv |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=NFL.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 7th, 2021 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/202102070tam.htm |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
On March 24, 2022, Gholston re-signed with the Buccaneers.{{cite web|title=Will Gholston Signs On for 10th Season in Tampa|url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/will-gholston-signs-bucs-10th-season-free-agency-2022-roster-moves|author=Smith, Scott|website=Buccaneers.com|date=March 24, 2022}} He played in 17 games with nine starts, recording 49 tackles.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston 2022 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00/gamelog/2022/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
Gholston re-signed with the Buccaneers on July 25, 2023.{{cite web|title=Will Gholston Returns for 11th Season with Bucs|url=https://www.buccaneers.com/news/will-gholston-tampa-bay-bucs-roster-move-2023-training-camp|author=Smith, Scott|website=Buccaneers.com|date=July 25, 2023}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="5"| Tackles !colspan="5"| Interceptions !colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | |
| 2013 | TAM
| 12 || 2 || 30 || 14 || 16 || 2.0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2014 | TAM
| 15 || 9 || 42 || 28 || 14 || 2.0 || 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2015 | TAM
| 16 || 11 || 67 || 47 || 20 || 3.0 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | TAM
| 14 || 14 || 49 || 37 || 12 || 3.0 || 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | TAM
| 14 || 10 || 36 || 21 || 15 || 0.0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2018 | TAM
| 16 || 2 || 10 || 7 || 3 || 1.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | TAM
| 16 || 8 || 38 || 26 || 12 || 1.0 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 | TAM
| 16 || 12 || 44 || 24 || 20 || 3.0 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | TAM
| 17 || 10 || 36 || 21 || 15 || 4.5 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | TAM
| 17 || 9 || 49 || 24 || 25 || 0.0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | TAM
| 16 || 1 || 19 || 10 || 9 || 0.0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GholWi00.htm Career] | 169 | 88 | 420 | 259 | 161 | 19.5 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
=Playoffs=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="5"| Tackles !colspan="5"| Interceptions !colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | |
| 2020 | TAM
| 4 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | TAM
| 2 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | TAM
| 1 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | TAM
| 2 || 1 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 9 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Personal life
He is a cousin of former Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Vernon Gholston.{{Cite web |title=William Gholston Bio – Michigan State Official Athletic Site |url=http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gholston_william00.html |access-date=November 3, 2013 |publisher=Msuspartans.com |archive-date=October 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017131817/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gholston_william00.html |url-status=dead }}
Just prior to the start of the 2021 NFL season, Gholston started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Professor Cassio Cardosi and has used the martial art to help prepare for the season.{{Cite web |last=Burne |first=Kathrine |date=2021-12-04 |title=NFL Lineman Will Gholston Says BJJ Is 'Harder Than Football Practice' |url=https://jitsmagazine.com/nfl-lineman-will-gholston-says-bjj-is-harder-than-football-practice/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Jitsmagazine.com |language=en-us}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons}}
{{footballstats|espn=16019|nfl=william-gholston|yahoo=26749}}
- [http://www.buccaneers.com/team-and-stats/roster/William-Gholston/e30e2897-5d68-4713-951c-a920641463a9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111017131817/http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gholston_william00.html Michigan State Spartans bio]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gholston, William}}
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:Michigan State Spartans football players
Category:Players of American football from Detroit