The sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft had a rough rookie year. A healthy scratch at one point during his first NFL season, linebacker Vernon Gholston widely is regarded as, to date, a bust.
But he expresses confidence as he prepares for a season that will commence with a four-game suspension for fellow linebacker Calvin Pace.
“I know I can play,” Gholston said Saturday in comments circulated by the team. “The coaches know I can play. It’s just all about like I said, getting in the defense, knowing what I’m in, knowing what I play, what I got going on and stepping up and doing it.”
Gholston doesn’t want to dwell on the fact that it didn’t happen for him a year ago.
“Did I do all I wanted to do?” Gholston said. “Probably not. But the biggest thing for me, I never look back on the past, I always look forward.”
In our view, Gholston would be wise to remember the past, and to find motivation from it. Not only does he have to prove to himself that last year was an aberration, but he also has to prove to everyone else that he’s not as bad as his first season suggested.
