FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -Vernon Gholston expects to get a good night’s sleep before his first real NFL game.
Sure, the New York Jets’ rookie linebacker is excited and nervous about his debut against the Dolphins, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be staring at the ceiling in his Miami hotel room Saturday night.
“Nah, I sleep pretty easily,” Gholston said Friday. “That’s always been my thing.”
And so was terrorizing quarterbacks while playing in his share of big games at Ohio State.
“It really doesn’t hit me until I get to the stadium and all the warmups are done and really until we walk out there on the field,” Gholston said. “Other than that, I’m pretty relaxed, just going over things in my head and trying not to stress out about it. Then, when the time comes, let’s go out and make something happen.”
The Jets are certainly hoping Gholston does quite a bit after drafting him with the sixth overall selection in April. He’s expected to see lots of action against the Dolphins, as is fellow first-rounder Dustin Keller.
“They’ve all done positive things and nothing’s been handed to them,” coach Eric Mangini said. “I don’t really believe in that in terms of, OK, we drafted him in this spot, he’s got to do this. It’s not really that approach. It’s much more of a meritocracy. But, if they’re on the 45-man roster, I said this to the team, each one of the days, if you’re up, you’ve got to contribute.”
Gholston has admittedly been slow to grasp the Jets’ 3-4 defensive system as he switches from defensive end to outside linebacker. He had a mostly quiet preseason with 11 tackles and no sacks in four games, but is optimistic.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “We had our last practice before the game and worked out a lot of different things that were going on. The biggest thing for me over the next two days is to just get a mental picture of everything, know where I’m supposed to be at, know what’s going on and study Miami a little more.”
After setting a school record last season with 14 sacks, Gholston knows it won’t be as easy to get to the quarterback in the NFL. He also has to fight the thoughts of trying to do too much.
“I think that’s the biggest thing for me,” he said. “You see the ball and you want to get to the football, but that’s always easier said than done. I have to do what I’m supposed to do out there and that’s be in the right spot and whatever’s going on with the play, play my role and I should be fine.”
And so should Keller, the 30th pick out of Purdue whose selection was booed by some fans in April. After showing off his receiving skills in the preseason, including catching a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre, Keller is hearing cheers these days.
“I wouldn’t have expected them to be real excited about me first thing coming in,” said Keller, who had eight catches for 85 yards in four games. “I kind of prefer it to be that way, actually, to be low on their radar and then kind of earn their respect. That’s something I’m hoping to do throughout the season.”
He’s probably no secret to the Dolphins, who are surely well aware of Keller’s terrific speed. While the Jets are deep at the position with veterans Chris Baker and Bubba Franks, Keller acts more like a No. 3 receiver than a traditional tight end.
“He’s a guy that causes problems,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “You have to gameplan for him. And we’ll be ready to adjust on game day if they do something different than what maybe we had anticipated coming into the game.”
It also helps that Favre has traditionally targeted his tight ends throughout his career. When training camp started, Keller couldn’t have imagined that he would be catching passes from a guy who was a Pro Bowl quarterback when he was in grade school.
“It’s been a roller-coaster,” said Keller, who was 6 in Favre’s rookie season. “It’s crazy and you couldn’t ask for a better person to lead us. It’s kind of cool because after I learned all the basics and started to get into the real heavy stuff, he comes in and we have to get back to the basics and I have to go through it twice, so it’s really good for me. For that reason, I feel I’m much more comfortable with the offense.”
Like Gholston, Keller is trying to curb his excitement heading into the season opener.
“This is a moment I’ve been thinking about for a really long time,” he said. “I think with all the extra time I’ve thought about everything, I’m going to be in the right mind-set and go out there calm and relaxed, just like any other game I’ve been in. Hopefully all the excitement and emotions will come after the game.”
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