CLEVELAND — It took Cleveland Browns punter Jamie Gillan all of one preseason kick to have the confidence that he could make it in the National Football League despite a late start to picking up the game at 16 years old after moving to America from Scotland.
However, there was the matter of proving it to the Browns’ coaching staff, which he did throughout the preseason so much so that the front office terminated the contract of veteran punter Britton Colquitt, a Pro Bowl-caliber player in his own right, and kept Gillan on the active roster.
“It was after the first punt,” Gillan told 3News anchor Jay Crawford in an exclusive interview. “It was just a little end-over-end one to the 10-yard line. Hit it and the feeling around was like, ‘I can do this. I can play in the NFL.’”
A perfectionist at his craft despite a fun-loving personality, Gillan changed from a three-step technique to a two-step, and he is seeing positive results, as proved by his being named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after a 40-25 road win over the Baltimore Ravens on September 29.
Gillan made the switch starting with the Browns’ 23-3 win over 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 season, Gillan launched 20 punts for 831 yards, an average of 41.6 yards per kick. Factoring in returns, Gillan had 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.
Through his first six games, Gillan has averaged 46.0 yards over his 28 punts with only one touchback, 16 landing inside the opponents’ 20-yard line and a long kick of 71 yards.
“The one thing I had a problem with in college is worrying about things I couldn’t control, and then, going into the games and through training camp, the only thing I worried about was controlling what I could control, and that was catching the snap and punting it where I have to,” Gillan said. “I can’t worry about the people in front of me or what’s around me. It’s me and the ball.
“My first punt was from the back of the end zone, and it wasn’t very good. I said, ‘Okay,’ and I knew exactly what I did wrong. The next one, I hit it how I would normally hit it, fair catch, 55 yards. I come running down the field and (long snapper) Charley (Hughlett) turns around and he’s just absolutely stoked.”
Gillan has always been confident in his skills, and ultimately, that led him an impromptu mid-season tryout at the high school level.
After his father in the Royal Air Force was transferred to Maryland, Gillan attended a game at Leonardtown High School, and it was after just a few kicks the day after that contest in front of coach Brian Woodburn that he earned a spot on the team.
“He watched me kick and said, ‘Okay, you’re our punter,’” Gillan said. “We went out and I kicked a 55-yard field goal, and he said, ‘You’re our kicker now, too.’”