CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns believe in the long-term potential of rookie punter Jamie Gillan.
It is that potential which caused the Browns to keep Gillan and part ways with a Pro Bowl caliber punter in Britton Colquitt, who has quite the NFL resume and was quickly scooped up in free agency by the Minnesota Vikings shortly after his Cleveland contract was terminated.
“That is why he made this football team,” Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said of Gillan. “I think the safe bet would have been to go with Britton. He is more consistent, and he has been around a long time.
“I think it would have been very difficult to let a guy like Jamie out of the building. He is so talented and has such a big leg swing. The sky is the limit for him. I think he is just scratching the surface on how good he can be and how good of a punter and holder he can be in this league. I just think he is so talented that we just have to make sure that we channel that energy and talent and hopefully, get as many consistent punts as we possibly can.”
Known as “The Scottish Hammer” because of his strong leg and childhood in the Scottish Highlands, Gillan saw action in all four of the Browns’ preseason games after a standout kicking/punting career at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and he showed off the kind of leg strength that led to Cleveland giving him a tryout ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Gillan launched 17 punts for 793 yards during the preseason with a long kick of 74 yards in a 21-18 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 17. Gillan averaged 46.6 yards per punt and a net average of 41.4 yards per kick with the Browns.
“Jamie approaches his job with very good focus and he is a true pro,” Priefer said. “I think he is learning how to be a better pro by being around guys in our locker room that are good pros. They are good for each other.
“Jamie has been great. The good thing about him is that he might not get a good punt and it might be a below-average punt, but the next one, he is going to bomb. He does not worry about what he did on the last one. He probably forgot anyway, to be honest with you. Having a short memory for him and his personality helps in that regard.”
In addition to kicking the ball a long way, Gillan made enough strides as a holder to earn the job after having never done that work in his career at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he was both the kicker and punter.
“That was a big factor in the final decision,” Priefer said. “That is why the last game was important for him to go out and hold well for us like he did. He is such a good athlete. He picked up on it pretty quickly. When he first got here, remember he did not do it in college. He did everything in college, kicking, punting, kicking field goals and everything.
“When we worked him out, we saw that he was raw, but he was talented and he has great hands and is a very good athlete. In the decision-making process, it was a big deal. He showed enough in that last preseason game and throughout the spring and summer that he has the ability to do it.”