Jets' 2008 first-round pick Vernon Gholston has scouts cautious at NFL combine

[SoFlaJets]

INDIANAPOLIS - One year later, Vernon Gholston still is creating a buzz at the NFL scouting combine - but not all positive.

Gholston, coming off a washout rookie season with the Jets, is the new cautionary tale for pro scouts: The workout wonder who raised his draft stock with a monster combine, then flopped on the field.

After leaving Ohio State as a junior, the 6-3, 265-pound Gholston sprinted like a running back (4.65 seconds in the 40) and pumped iron like an offensive lineman (37 reps on the 225-pound bench press) in Indianapolis, numbers that still awe scouts. Then-coach Eric Mangini was smitten with the sculpted defensive end-turned-linebacker, and the Jets chose him with the No.6 pick.

You know the rest - no starts, no sacks and only five tackles as a rookie.

"He had good sack numbers (in college), but he didn't do anything else," said an NFC scout, whose team rated Gholston as only a third-round prospect. "The thing is, when someone has a workout like that, I can promise you, the coach says, 'I can make this kid a player.'"

It happens all the time in scouting, general managers paying more attention to the stopwatch than game tape.

"Obviously, we scout the all-star games, we come to the combine and we go to the pro days, but what they do on the field is most important and what we lean on the most," Giants GM Jerry Reese said.

New Jets coach Rex Ryan, a defensive guru, is planning to devote extra time to Gholston, convinced he can turn him into a productive player. For now, the Gholston factor is causing increased scrutiny for the prospects in this year's draft class.

Players will do just about anything to enhance their value. Many hire trainers and speed coaches, with the hopes of shaving a fraction off their 40 times. Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno, of Middletown, N.J., worked with former Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.

So who are this year's combine stars? Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey ran one of the fastest 40s in combine history, clocking 4.3 seconds.

"I do believe I'm a game-breaker," he said.

Let's see how he does in an actual game.

RELIEVING STRESS: Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, who has a stress fracture in his left foot that was discovered at the combine, called it an "old injury" and said he won't have surgery until after his campus workout in late March. Crabtree is considered a likely top-five pick.

[Jetfan13]

well at least that pick served some purpose

[Klecko73isGod]

Sub Mario Williams for Gholston in stories printed a couple years ago.

[SenorGato]

Ah...nice to see it took 'til the 2008 Draft for scouts to not be amazed by muscles.

Crap the media sucks. People eat this trash up too...

[Thai Jet]

Sub Mario Williams for Gholston in stories printed a couple years ago.

And it will happen again. Coaches just seem to fall in love with these workout warriors every year . As Parcells says ....Show me the films. Can the kid play football ?

[neckdemon]

Sub Mario Williams for Gholston in stories printed a couple years ago.

williams played all 16 games. had 4.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed. 1 forced fumble. 35 tackles. a far cry from what gholston accomplished which was just about nothing unless you think 5 whole tackles is something worth talking about. idk what his salary for the year was but he made a hell of alot of money per tackle.

[Klecko73isGod]

williams played all 16 games. had 4.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed. 1 forced fumble. 35 tackles. a far cry from what gholston accomplished which was just about nothing unless you think 5 whole tackles is something worth talking about. idk what his salary for the year was but he made a hell of alot of money per tackle.

Williams also didn't somehow get in his coach's doghouse and never got let out.

[KSJets]

williams played all 16 games. had 4.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed. 1 forced fumble. 35 tackles. a far cry from what gholston accomplished which was just about nothing unless you think 5 whole tackles is something worth talking about. idk what his salary for the year was but he made a hell of alot of money per tackle.

And was in on every play. If Gholston was on the field every play like Williams, he would probably have better stats. But Mangini wanted him to learn the entire position, not just rushing the QB. Hopefully Ryan pulls him aside and just says "Go rip the QB's head off. Don't worry about covering anyone, just get to the QB".

[Boozer76]

williams played all 16 games. had 4.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed. 1 forced fumble. 35 tackles. a far cry from what gholston accomplished which was just about nothing unless you think 5 whole tackles is something worth talking about. idk what his salary for the year was but he made a hell of alot of money per tackle.

Mario Williams was thrown on the field at DE and told to go get the QB and tackle anyone who happens to be running with the ball in his direction. that was it. Vernon Gholston was being told to cover TE's, play zones, and spy RB's. If Gholston was simply told to go after the QB he'd have been on the field alot more and he would have had comparable numbers to Williams. Gholston was touted as a sackmaster in the draft. that's what his skillset is. Mangini and Sutton decided they'd rather take a guy who's skillset is to get after the QB and disrupt the play and turn him into a glorified cover man. He would have easily had numbers comparable to Williams, which weren't all that impressive, had he just been told to gert after the QB abnd stop the run if it comes his way.

I suspect Ryan is going to try and mold Gholston into what he should be, hopefully moving him around a bit to create mismatches on his path to the QB. If he washes out this year then I'll call him a bust, but for now he was a player that was grossly misused. I watched him in college and he was a man against boys. Even in the LSU national championship game LSU gameplanned everything to take Gholston out and leave Laurinitis open or 1 on 1. Laurinitis got exposed as the fraud he is and LSU romped OSU thanks to basically playing OSU as a one man D.

[Aten]

Mario Williams was thrown on the field at DE and told to go get the QB and tackle anyone who happens to be running with the ball in his direction. that was it. Vernon Gholston was being told to cover TE's, play zones, and spy RB's. If Gholston was simply told to go after the QB he'd have been on the field alot more and he would have had comparable numbers to Williams. Gholston was touted as a sackmaster in the draft. that's what his skillset is. Mangini and Sutton decided they'd rather take a guy who's skillset is to get after the QB and disrupt the play and turn him into a glorified cover man. He would have easily had numbers comparable to Williams, which weren't all that impressive, had he just been told to gert after the QB abnd stop the run if it comes his way.

I suspect Ryan is going to try and mold Gholston into what he should be, hopefully moving him around a bit to create mismatches on his path to the QB. If he washes out this year then I'll call him a bust, but for now he was a player that was grossly misused. I watched him in college and he was a man against boys. Even in the LSU national championship game LSU gameplanned everything to take Gholston out and leave Laurinitis open or 1 on 1. Laurinitis got exposed as the fraud he is and LSU romped OSU thanks to basically playing OSU as a one man D.

This. Except the part about the title game. Gholston got worked so bad he still doesn't know what hit him.

[Boozer76]

This. Except the part about the title game. Gholston got worked so bad he still doesn't know what hit him.

You haven't got a clue or you just did not really pay attention to that game at all. Gholston faced double and triple teams blocks the entire game. LSU's entire offensive gameplan was to take Gholston out by any means necessary. They basically too k a pick your poison approach between Gholston and Laurinitis. They opted to take their chances with Laurinitis and schooled him. There was a draw play where the center engaged Laurinitis man up and drove him backwards about 15-20 yards downfield while the RB stayed right behind him. It was downright embarrasing. Laurinitis spent most of that game completely free and kept shooting the wrong gaps and overpursuing. The times he was blocked he was driven right out of the play. Any play that went anywhere near Gholston had him up against at least 2 blockers with numerous occasions of a 3rd coming in to chip him. LSU's offensive gameplan was simple-eliminate Gholston by any means and take their chances against the other 10. It worked brilliantly.

[neckdemon]

Mario Williams was thrown on the field at DE and told to go get the QB and tackle anyone who happens to be running with the ball in his direction. that was it. Vernon Gholston was being told to cover TE's, play zones, and spy RB's. If Gholston was simply told to go after the QB he'd have been on the field alot more and he would have had comparable numbers to Williams. Gholston was touted as a sackmaster in the draft. that's what his skillset is. Mangini and Sutton decided they'd rather take a guy who's skillset is to get after the QB and disrupt the play and turn him into a glorified cover man. He would have easily had numbers comparable to Williams, which weren't all that impressive, had he just been told to gert after the QB abnd stop the run if it comes his way.

I suspect Ryan is going to try and mold Gholston into what he should be, hopefully moving him around a bit to create mismatches on his path to the QB. If he washes out this year then I'll call him a bust, but for now he was a player that was grossly misused. I watched him in college and he was a man against boys. Even in the LSU national championship game LSU gameplanned everything to take Gholston out and leave Laurinitis open or 1 on 1. Laurinitis got exposed as the fraud he is and LSU romped OSU thanks to basically playing OSU as a one man D.

well i agree that gholston was probably misused.....well hopefully this year is a better year for him. i do have hope that ryan will put this guy in position to succeed.

[KSJets]

well i agree that gholston was probably misused.....well hopefully this year is a better year for him. i do have hope that ryan will put this guy in position to succeed.

To be fair, all of our LB's really were misused towards the end of the year.

[CobraVerde]

Most Ohio State players blow in the NFL...

[KudosForND]

And was in on every play. If Gholston was on the field every play like Williams, he would probably have better stats. But Mangini wanted him to learn the entire position, not just rushing the QB. Hopefully Ryan pulls him aside and just says "Go rip the QB's head off. Don't worry about covering anyone, just get to the QB".

Mario actually gets double teamed everytime he is a great player.

I never liked Gholston and always said he sucked and he sucked in college. Worst pick ever shouldve traded down and got Merling or Harvey like i was saying at the time.

[KudosForND]

Most Ohio State players blow in the NFL...

POTW

I hate Ohio state

[gang_green03]

This is a little annoying, just becasue a player has a good workout doesn't mean he should be ignored. If I'm not mistaken wasn't Merriman a workout warrior? And Gholston did have some stats to back things up. He wasn't an elite prospect but its easy to look back and say he was way overrated and what not. If we didn't take him he wouldn't have fallen very far.