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'My goodness' - Scottish punter confuses NFL with classic rugby play
By Ian Cameron
Scottish NFL punter Jamie Gillan has confused American football fans and officials alike after drop-kicking the ball as he botched a snap for the New York Giants.
Former rugby player Gillan dropped the ball during his side's game with the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend, a move that one pundit described as a 'near disaster', before kicking it off the ground.
The drop-kick apparently confused the NFL referees, who didn't know what to make of the mangled move.
Gillan - AKA The Scottish Hammer - grew up playing the fifteen-man code and many people are drawing obvious parallels between his messed up play and his former sport, where drop kicks are not a mistake and in the right context - are encouraged.
The Eagles ended up being given the ball on the 33-yard line as a result after it was ruled that the drop-kick was illegal.
It led one fan account to ask: "Did he do this on purpose? I can’t tell if the ball slipped or he forgot this isn’t rugby."
After a bright start in the sport, Gillan has hit a rough patch.
A former rugby player at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, where he would have played alongside the likes of Zach Mercer and Stafford McDowall, Gillan moved to the US in 2014, where he attended Leonardtown High School in Maryland. From there, he received a scholarship offer to attend Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Browns picked up Gillan as an undrafted rookie in 2019, with the 23-year-old not being drafted following the conclusion of his four years as a college punter. According to reports, Gillan ruined three footballs with the strength of his punting during one pre-draft workout, but despite that impressive feat and a strong collegiate career, the Scot still went unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Browns eventually dumped the Scot after a rocky season last year, after which the New York Giants came calling.
The NFL is pretty unforgiving of these sorts of gaffs. Now disgraced former NRL star Jared Hayne was released by the San Francisco 49ers after he fumbled a number of balls, despite proving to be a formidable attacking weapon in pre-season in 2015.
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Latest Comments
I think the best 15 we have is DMac. Jordan at 14.
Go to commentsIt certainly needs to be cherished. Despite Nick (and you) highlighting their usefulness for teams like Australia (and obviously those in France they find form with) I (mention it general in those articles) say that I fear the game is just not setup in Aus and NZ to appreciate nor maximise their strengths. The French game should continue to be the destination of the biggest and most gifted athletes but it might improve elsewhere too.
I just have an idea it needs a whole team focus to make work. I also have an idea what the opposite applies with players in general. I feel like French backs and halves can be very small and quick, were as here everyone is made to fit in a model physique. Louis was some 10 and 20 kg smaller that his opposition and we just do not have that time of player in our game anymore. I'm dying out for a fast wing to appear on the All Blacks radar.
But I, and my thoughts on body size in particular, could be part of the same indoctrination that goes on with player physiques by the establishment in my parts (country).
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