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Vernon Gholston hopes 56 is lucky number this time for Jets
BY RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Saturday, May 3rd 2008
Shortly after last season, Eric Mangini was on a treadmill in the Jets' weight room, performing a cardio workout, when he caught his first glimpse of Vernon Gholston on tape - and that really got the coach's heart pumping. "I remember thinking, 'This could be the sixth pick in the draft,'" Mangini said Friday. "He kept popping off the screen."
The coach was so captivated that he rushed to his office, punched up Gholston on the computer and checked out the Jets' scouting reports on the former Ohio State star. He was impressive on the computer, too. It was love at first byte.
Vernon Gholston hopes 56 is lucky number this time for Jets
Jets' Gholston gets a load of 3-4 in minicamp
BY ERIK BOLAND | [email protected]
May 3, 2008
The only part missing from the Vernon Gholston portion of Eric Mangini's news conference late Friday afternoon was something along the lines of "And boy are my arms tired."
He sounded excited, especially when discussing Gholston, whom the Jets are depending on to help what last season was one of the league's worst pass rushes. When Mangini, perched on his treadmill, first saw Gholston on tape, he saw abilities that had him thinking, "This could be the sixth pick in the draft."
"The strength on the edge, his ability to rush the passer, the number of sacks and the amount of times he was able to affect the quarterback," Mangini said. "Whether it be driving the tackle back into him or getting a hand on him, altering the throw. Things like that kept popping off the screen."
But all of those things were accomplished with Gholston playing mostly at defensive end in Ohio State's 4-3 defense. The Jets play a 3-4 in which Gholston projects as a linebacker.
Gholston called the learning process "a constant grind," but he was happy to have all the weeks of predraft hype, interviews and speculation behind him.
"It's good to finally go out there, learn the system, be out there making mistakes," Gholston said. "In college, I didn't make too many mistakes, and now you're making mistakes. But you do learn and grow and over time get better."
Jets' Gholston gets a load of 3-4 in minicamp -- Newsday.com
Gholston practices with Jets for first time
By Dennis Waszak Jr., AP Sports Writer
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. ? Vernon Gholston insists it's only a coincidence that he's wearing the No. 56 for the New York Jets.
Sure, the hulking outside linebacker is expected to add a much-needed boost to the Jets' pass rush, but he doesn't consider himself a sack-collecting savior. Still, his lofty draft status, eye-popping skills and, now, his jersey number have some hoping for a second coming of Lawrence Taylor, the Hall of Famer who terrorized quarterbacks for years with the New York Giants.
"I just thought it was a good number," Gholston said with a grin Friday on the first day of Jets rookie camp. "That's all I really thought."
Gholston, the sixth overall pick in the draft, wore No. 50 at Ohio State and would've taken that if veteran Eric Barton didn't already have it. So, it wasn't a nod to Lawrence Taylor, one of the most disruptive defensive forces in NFL history?
"No, not really," said Gholston, still smiling. "I had limited options. Obviously, my No. 50 was taken, so of the numbers I had to choose from, that's the one I picked."
Gholston practices with Jets for first time - USATODAY.com
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