Is William Gholston Michigan State's Next Bubba Smith?

All Michigan State fans are in a tizzy. Actually, fans in Spartan Nation have been wildly excited for a while now. Most of that excitement stems over one player.

That man is William Gholston, a defensive end from Michigan’s Southeastern High School—and boy is he a man.

Standing at a matured 6’7” and weighing 237 pounds, Gholston’s game is like that of Goliath. He played offense and defense at Southeastern, accumulating over 100 tackles and over at least 15 sacks in his sophomore and junior years.

He is currently rated as the twenty-first best player in the Rivals 100, currently ranking higher than any other Big Ten team’s recruits thus far. He has been the biggest catch in East Lansing in a while, although the news of him wearing green and white is nothing new.

Gholston has been quoted as saying he has been a Spartan fan for most of his life. He even wore a green tuxedo to his high school prom. While there were rumors last year about Gholston possible reconsidering his collegiate destination, those have all been put to rest.

And that is great news for a Michigan State team which struggled heavily on defense this past season. With All-American linebacker Greg Jones returning for his senior season, the two could make an excellent tandem if Gholston doesn’t end up red-shirting his first season. Gholston has stated he wants to play linebacker in college, and with his solid frame it shouldn’t be much of a transition.

While Jones has been the best Spartan defender the last couple years, Gholston reminds me of another Spartan defender: Bubba Smith.

Smith played four years at Michigan State in the mid-1960s, achieving All-America honors in 1965 and ’66. His team won a share of the national title with Notre Dame in his senior year. He was even drafted first overall in the NFL Draft, which to this day is still the highest a Spartan has ever been drafted.

Smith was made a member of the college football hall of fame in 1988, an honor Gholston would surely one day want to have on his resume. Smith played defensive end while Gholston currently does, and their careers may one day mirror one another in terms of talent.

For now, Spartan Nation is still caught up in the “what ifs” than what actually will happen, but for most people that is perfectly alright.