Indianapolis- Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston was kicked off his high school football team in Detroit for not being tough enough.

But he came back with a vengeance and molded himself into what most experts predict will be a top 10 pick in the NFL draft.

"It shows the type of person I am," Gholston said at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. "I take a lot of pride in what I do, and once I do something, I commit myself fully to it. Once I started football, I just kept at it and got good at it."

Gholston didn't begin playing football until he was a sophomore in high school. That's when he was spotted walking through the halls of Cass Technical High by coach Thomas Wilcher. At first, Wilcher thought this chiseled, mature-looking young man - who was 6-2 and more than 200 pounds at the time - was a parent look ing for his son.

But when Gholston convinced the coach he indeed was a stu dent, Wilcher talked him into playing foot ball. It sounded good to Ghol ston, who was looking for something to fill the void in his life after his dad died when he was in eighth grade.

Besides, he already had been weightlifting on his own and had raw 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash.

"I never really even watched football [growing up]," Gholston said. "I played basketball and I was a big wrestling fan, loved working out, but football kind of slipped through the cracks."

Wilcher started Gholston at guard on the offensive line to break him in.

"I knew he could block somebody and go straight ahead," Wilcher told Pro Football Weekly. "That's all we asked him to do."

Wilcher knew he was wasting all that speed, so he moved Gholston to defensive end. But Gholston came off the edge more like a lamb than a lion. Defensive coordinator Charleston Fobbs kicked him off the team, telling him not to come back.

Gholston appealed to Wilcher to let him return. Wilcher did, but put him back at guard for most of his sophomore and junior seasons. Occasionally, though, Wilcher snuck Gholston in at linebacker and he flashed his edge-rush ability.

He played there as a senior, impressing college scouts with his size, speed and pass-rushing prowess. Despite being a Detroit native with a high school coach who played for Michigan, the Wolverines didn't become interested until almost everyone else offered a scholarship.

Ultimately, Gholston chose the Buckeyes, the first team to show it believed in him.

"I didn't grow up following college football," he said. "So when it came time to get a scholarship, the biggest thing was finding the best fit, and I felt like Ohio State was that."

At Ohio State, the coaches moved him to end and also prodded him to play with more intensity. Once the light bulb went on, Gholston registered 7½ sacks and 15 tackles for losses as a sophomore, and 14 sacks for minus-111 yards as a junior.

The 14 sacks were an Ohio State record, topping the 10-year-old mark of current Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, to whom Gholston has been compared. Gholston had some dominant games, including four sacks against Wisconsin and three against Michigan.

Gholston beat Michigan left tackle Jake Long for a sack - one of only two surrendered by Long in his career. As payback, Long, who's expected to go in the top three of the draft, left Gholston a 5:45 a.m. wakeup call on the day he checked into his hotel in Indianapolis.

"I take it personally," Long said. "I wanted to be perfect, but Gholston is a great player and I let up on him."

Gholston, the second-rated defensive end in the draft, is projected as an end in a 4-3 defensive alignment or an outside linebacker in a 3-4. If the Browns are interested, they'd have to hope he falls into the second half of the first round and then trade up from their No. 56 overall pick.

Gholston got off to a great start Sunday, bench-pressing 225 pounds 37 times, tops at the combine. If his workout continues to go well, he could cement a top-seven selection.

"Gholston is a remarkable talent, but he's only just begun realizing his vast potential," said NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock. "He's blessed with incredible speed, long limbs and superb strength. Gholston is the prototype pass rusher that professional teams look for - big, fast, strong and explosive."

Not bad for a guy who was kicked off the team just seven years ago.