Buzz: Gholston Finds a Mentor
When the Jets selected Vernon Gholston, many had visions of him knocking around Quarterbacks like rag dolls just like he did in college starting Week 1. So far for Gholston, it’s been a tough transition to the pros. Some media and even commenters here on this blog are talking about him as a disappointment and bust already, not even half way into his first season. Our argument is that he’s always been a project. Gholston came out of college early, he’s transitioning into a new role, and the fact that he never played football until he was a sophomore in high school.
Gholston, clearly feeling the desire to get better and contribute might have allowed his marketing agent to set up one of the best meetings of his life, meeting about creating a mentoring relationship with the league’s most renowned 3-4 OLB, Lawrence Taylor.
“He reached out to me and I’ve never really had the time to do anything like this but after I met him, I really like the kid,” Taylor said Sunday morning from, of course, a golf course in Florida.
“He’s a good kid and he wants to bust his butt and really understand this defense. After I met him I decided I’d help him … I really need to watch him on film to see what he’s doing out there and I plan to do that,” said Taylor, who also plans to go as far as physically working with his new protege in Florida after the season. “You can see he has all the physical tools, that’s obvious. There are other things I’ll help him out with.”
This is the first time since Taylor retired has agreed to get so involved in the career of a young pass rusher. He was lukewarm on the idea at best, that is until he met Gholston. Once the two starting talking shop, Taylor decided to give the tutoring biz a shot this one time.
As far as how their initial lesson progressed, Taylor drove home several points but two in particular stood out.
“One of the things I told him is If you are going to mess up, mess up going full speed 100 percent,” said the living legend. “We all mess up but just making sure when you do you are going all out.”
Lesson No. 2?
“I told him in that scheme you need to know what everyone else around you is doing as well or even better than what you have to do,” he said. “That’s one thing I really tried to emphasize. When I played I knew exactly where Harry (Carson) and Carl (Banks), the linemen, the DB’s – I knew what everyone was doing. When you get that down and you know where everyone around you is going to be on each play that puts you in a better position.
“If you know exactly what everyone is doing, it takes a lot of the thinking out of it and you can use your physical tools a lot better.”
Taylor nailed the two of the biggest issues that face Gholston.His tendency towards reservation in this new role, and his knowledge of the system his own and his teammates responsibilities.
Having someone like Lawrence Taylor work with him I hope will give him a taste of that “wild dog” mentality that seems to be lacking … I’m not saying that Gholston should imitate Taylor, but he does need some more fire.
Gholston is no dope, he’s a smart young man who will do the bookwork it takes to get better. Watching him some in the preseason, he knows when he’s blown assignments immediately, and he’s learning from his mistakes. Although there were no stats to show for it, I was proud of the way I saw him setting the edge on a number of occasions, allowing other players to make stops in the run … that’s good progress from where he was in the preseason already.
I’m not saying that Gholston still won’t be a bust or a disappointment, but players like Gaines Adams, Shawne Merriman and even the Jets own Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas took time to develop … they weren’t built in a day. With the help of the Jets coaches as well as someone like Lawrence Taylor, it’s clear that Gholston wants to get better and contribute more to this team and he’s taking steps to ensure that happens, which is part of the reason why the Jets picked him in the first place.
im confident gholston is far from a bust…. he will develop and grow into the system…
and plus seeing him in person he looks like a freak of nature
Agree – Gholston will certainly get better and gain confidence. I’d predict by his 3rd season he will be a top 10 LB in the league.
I saw him on about 6 plays on defense in the Bills game, which means he must have improved dramatically since the KC game where he was making mistakes on ST. He isn’t a bust, just adjusting slowly to a really difficult defense – either through injury or time, he will get better and become a starter for us.
I said when the Jets first drafted Gholston that they should hire Taylor as a tutor/mentor for VG. I’m glad that it finally happened albeit VG had to reach out to him, but he should benefit greatly from it.
as long as VG continues to work hard, there is NO way Mangini will let him fail.
Maybe some crack and hookers will help? All kidding aside, I’d love to see VG get a little help from the man who essentially invented the 3-4 OLB position.
He’s trying to improve himself, and that’s a real positive sign. Any knowledge learned from LT would be of great benefit for the kid. He certainly has the physical tools to play in this league, now lets hope he can adjust mentally.
I am very impressed that VG had the humility and the ambition to reach out to (the original) LT and obtain his assistance.
The media and the fans should really give VG a chance to develop before assigning the “bust” label.
“…which brings me to my next lesson, Vernon…crack kills.”
You know what too, he came out a year early, hes playing his senior year in college in the NFL. Maybe it might even take him two years before he’s comfotable. We have Pace and Thomas right now so we also have the luxury of him not having to step in right away. All he can do is help the team right now, hes not holding us back in anyway plus he sounds like hes a good guy and wants to help the Jets. If he develops into a stud pass rusher it instantly makes you a legit defense for the next few years…
I just wish he didn’t look like Barbie Carpenter from the Cowboys when he DOES get a chance to play.
Anyone who watched Hard Knocks this year will get the reference. Carpenter (also an LB from Ohio State) never seems to want to be there, gets blocked easily despite being a great athlete, etc.
That is my fear for Gholston; that he isn’t a “football-head” like a Rhodes, Keller, or Mangold.
Let us pray he doesn’t follow in Barbie Carpenter’s footsteps!
One point, VG is no Merriman. I made the point before the draft that VG had none of the “violence” in his game that Merriman had. Yet, Merriman was drafted 12th overall (I thought VG was a reach and not worth the 6th pick). Also, Merriman started 10 games as a rookie, had 10 sacks, was named the defensive rookie of the year and made the pro bowl (which he made every year in the NFL…a streak that will be broken because of injury) Sorry, but there’s no comparison between Merriman, whose learning curve was about as short as it gets, and VG.
As for having LT as a mentor; that’s great. But, does VG have the warrior mentality? As a confirmed Giants-hater, I still watched as many LT games as possible because he did things on the field that were amazing, but his desire to win was what was truly remarkable. My memory is hazy, but I seem to remember a game where he ran an INT (or fumble) back for a TD, had his requisite 2-3 sacks AND blocked a FG!!! He was the greatest defensive player that I’ve ever seen and there’s really no a close second. I’m afraid guys like LT are born, not coached up. But, like chicken soup, being mentored by LT can’t hurt.
Yeah, LT seemed to take every single offensive play as a personal affront that required vicious retaliation.
He whiffed pretty bad on a special teams tackle yesterday, and I haven’t heard his name once this year. That can’t be a great sign.
Will Taylor be tutoring him on personal character issues too?
SackDance99,
As someone noted above, we already have 2 above average Outside Line backers that are playing very well at this point. There is no way that VG is giong to step in and start 10 games as a rookie with BT and CP playing as well as they are.
I would be concerned tho if Victor Hobson was our Outside linebacker and VG couldnt beat him out for a starting spot.
No need to worry or even think about Gholston now as we have 2 good Outside linebackers that are playing very well in our D.
The coaches have the luxury to take their time with VG as they ease him into the starting role, whether next year, or 2 years from now while BT and CP continue to play at high levels. Look on the bright side, Giants had Strahan, Tuck, OC, and Kiwi and were able to generate an aswome pass rush.
That can be the Jets in a year or 2 if VG developes properly and lives up to his potential.
Don’t the Jets have sufficient coaching to teach VG? Why is it necessary to reach out to LT at midseason?
Najy, Gholston would not beat out Victor Hobson for the job! That is the problem!
Speaking of Hobson….where did he wind up after he got waived by the Pats?
never mind…I just looked it up. Kinda scary that our relatively young and starting OLB last year is/was completely unwanted by the NFL…
I still can’t believe there were so many bloggers on here who thought Hobson was going to prosper in the Pats D. Too slow, too short.
VG has shown absolutely NOTHING, not a flash, not a hint, not anything. He is living up to the worst expectations of him coming out, that he was a workout warrior and not a football player. It’s not just that he looks completely confused and lost (which he does) — it’s that he doesn’t even look like a football player out there. I guess against collegiate competition he could somehow look like a man among boys (sometimes), but at the next level, he is a boy among men, and it is very hard to be hopeful here.
I was surprised I saw him more on defense than in previous games.
This is a great move for gholston.Im confident this kid will be a great 3-4 OLB.Since when can a guy be considered a “bust” after 8 weeks into his rookie season and dont forget about his contract situation, with him getting into camp late. I think we all agree this guy has great upside.
VG=Bust
I think having Taylor mentor him is a good thing. Taylor will put the fire on this kid. The fact that Taylor also wants to physically work with him leads me to believe Taylor will put in alot of effort into making this project (Gholston) work. Give him 1year with taylor and we will definetely be seeing a difference…