CORTLAND — Vernon Gholston knows all about the numbers. Most of them he would prefer to forget.
Start with being the No. 6 overall pick in the 2008 draft, playing 15 games and managing just four tackles on defense, one of which was solo.
Those are not good numbers.
This season, his second in the NFL, Gholston has changed his number — from No. 56 to No. 50, which previously was worn by the departed Eric Barton.
Hopefully for Gholston and the Jets, who invested so much in him, his performance will change, too.
With starting linebacker Calvin Pace suspended for the first four games of the regular season, Rex Ryan quickly named Gholston the starter, so there will be a bright spotlight on how much better he is this year than last.
“Losing Calvin is big. It puts pressure on not only myself, but other linebackers to step up,” Gholston said. “I’d definitely got to step in and be a starter. Whatever happens after the four games happens.”
Gholston, who has shown flashes of good play in training camp the last week entering last night’s scrimmage, said he believes he will be a different player this year. Gholston said he now has a year of experience and a full offseason to work on the system — something he didn’t have as a rookie because Ohio State’s quarterly semesters cut into his learning time.
“I expect to be on the field more and to play more,” Gholston said. “For me it’s not about proving something. It’s about just going out there and doing it. I expect to play at a high level, and I expect to be one of the best players.
“To say that’s going to happen tomorrow, it’s probably not. To say it’s going to happen in a year, it’s probably not. But at some point that’s my expectation.”
Ryan, who has been talking up Gholston, sounds like he expects big things from his second-year linebacker.
“I’m confident in what I see,” Ryan said of Gholston. “He realizes now that this is it. We all know he’s strong. He’s all that kind of stuff. Now lets see it on the field. I think he’s starting to show that.
“I just know he’s going to be a big part of what we do and a big part of our success.”
It’s always unfair when a rookie is labeled with the dreaded “bust” tag, but those whispers persisted about Gholston last year and will continue to do so until he produces.
“As far as last year goes I don’t worry about what people have to say,” Gholston said. “I put more pressure on myself than anybody. My expectations are high. Coaches are going to put the best players out there in a position to win. Last year, I probably wasn’t the best player.”
Gholston said he believes being a part of the offseason program, which he wasn’t last year, will pay huge dividends for him this year.
Gholston said he has “no doubt” he will be a better player this year.
“Just being in my second year and having some experience under your belt, that changes the world for everybody,” he said. “Getting that rookie year out of the way, getting that off your back, makes a huge difference.”
So should Ryan’s attacking style of defense, which surely will put Gholston in some pass rushing positions to succeed.
He had 14 sacks in his senior year at Ohio State and barely got close enough to opposing quarterbacks last year to read the numbers on their jerseys.
“Early in the year I was out there a little more and I missed some sacks,” Gholston said. “I just missed them. Sometimes you get overanxious about sacks. That stuff will come.”
Gholston also delivered a somewhat veiled shot at the coaching staff from last year.
“First of all, you’ve got to be out there to get sacks,” he said.
“The thing about sacks is you can go from zero to 10 pretty quickly,” Gholston said. “The numbers add up.”
He badly needs to accumulate some numbers in 2009 or those whispers about being a bust will become louder.