Gholston to play more

Never quite able to make it under Coach Eric Mangini, the New York Jets still haven’t given up on Vernon Gholston (drafted 6th in the 2008 NFL Draft).

Case in point, last week in Detroit, Gholston was tapped on the shoulder by Rex Ryan before the kickoff and told him he was starting.

“All right coach, I’m going in,” Gholston said.

It wasn’t the first game he had started, but it was the first this year and Ryan said on Thursday that Gholston can expect to get more playing time. Mangini moved him from defensive end to outside linebacker, a transition that never seemed to fit Gholston.  Ryan believes Gholston is better now.

“I know he never was on the stat board, but he had some great ‘knock them backs’ in there,” Ryan said. “They couldn’t run the ball when he was in there I thought he did a decent job rushing the passer. Vernon is a good football player. He’s a big contributor to our defense and you’re going to see it this week — probably moreso than you have all season.”

“I think he’s been playing better,” Ryan said. “I think he earns the right to play more.”

No doubt Ryan would love to see Gholston have a great game against Mangini.