CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns were so impressed by what undrafted rookie free agent punter Jamie Gillan was able to do in training camp that he unseated a Pro Bowl-caliber veteran in Britton Colquitt and made the initial 53-man roster out of training camp.
And the National Football League is taking notice of what the Browns have known for a while: that Gillan is a talented punter who continues to make a positive impact on the game.
Gillan was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September by the NFL on Thursday, and that announcement came on the heels of him earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after a 23-3 win at the New York Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 2.
In helping the Browns to a 2-2 record over the first month of the 2019 regular season, Gillan has launched 20 punts for 831 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per kick. Factoring in returns, Gillan has a net average of 40.6 yards with three punts landing out of bounds, three downed, 11 landing inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, 10 being fair caught and only four returned.
Gillan gained a reputation for having a big leg when he was placekicking and punting for the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and he lived up to that billing during his first preseason with the Browns.
As Gillan, known as “The Scottish Hammer,” attempted to take the Browns’ punting job from Colquitt, he made an emphatic statement on his first kick against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on August 17.
With the Browns facing a fourth-and-31 from their own 16-yard line, Gillan launched a 74-yard punt to completely flip field position, as the ball was downed by a Browns coverage specialist at the Indianapolis 10-yard line.
Gillan is the first Browns player to win AFC Player of the Month honors since linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was named the Defensive Player of the Month in September of 2011. Also, Gillan is the first Browns player to earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Month since Joshua Cribbs achieved the feat in December of 2009.