Reggie Gilliam estimates that it takes about two seconds between the time a long snapper releases the ball and a punter catches it.
That gives Gilliam a tiny window to analyze, think quickly and decide how to defend a punt. It’s about the length of time it takes to send a text message or to start the engine of a car.
“You don’t have a lot of time to think,” Gilliam said.
Gilliam, however, maximized that minuscule amount of time to become one of the nation’s best at blocking kicks in the last two years with the University of Toledo football team. He’ll now attempt to earn a roster spot with the Bills, who signed him to a three-year contract as an undrafted free agent.
“Buffalo wasn’t one of the only teams that wanted to sign me, but they were the most interested, and that’s what brought me to Buffalo,” Gilliam told the News. “They have a great program there, and they’re headed in the right direction.”
The Bills signed Gilliam as a fullback, but at Toledo, he was used at tight end, at fullback and on special teams, where he found his niche. If he finds his niche in the NFL, it will likely be on special teams, too.
In four seasons at Toledo, Gilliam registered six blocked kicks, including a national best of four as a junior in 2018. One of those four came against the University at Buffalo, in the Bulls’ 31-17 win at the Glass Bowl in Ohio, when Gilliam deflected UB’s punt attempt late in the first half.
UB special teams coordinator Taiwo Onatolu remembers that play, too.
“He got a hand up, got through the front line and hit the shield, the three guys in the back,” Onatolu said. “The ball got deflected and it went in front of the line of scrimmage and they gained a few yards, and it was a short gain."
Between the snap and the toss, Gilliam said he simply busted through the line and won the one-on-one matchup.
“A lot of times, our scheme was, ‘Go get them!’ ” said Gilliam, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 244 pounds. “The days leading up to that game, on film, we watched who was on the field for UB and the people who were right in front of the punter, who was going to turn their shoulder and who was going to step out on the play.”
On paper, it was a 37-yard punt. It was also an illustration of Gilliam’s ability to analyze a special-teams play, react and respond.
Onatolu said UB “definitely” had a game plan to contain Gilliam. Most of the time, the plan was for the Bulls to punt away from where Gilliam would be coming from, or to have the punt team put all eyes on him, particularly the shield’s eyes.
“The biggest thing, especially in punt techniques and in what most teams do, it’s about getting a jump on the ball, as soon as you see the ball move,” Onatolu said. “Most punters move the ball before they kick it, and Reggie gets off the ball as fast as he can.
"He was also a really physical player, and what made him successful was that and his reaction. He’s going to go until after the whistle. Special teams is a lot of want-to, and he has a lot of want-to.”
Gilliam knew that when he joined the Rockets as a walk-on in 2016 out of Westland High School in suburban Columbus, the best way for him to earn playing time was to focus on maximizing his work on special teams.
“Blocking punts, it was about me taking pride in going one-on-one against a guy,” said Gilliam, who was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2018. “In college, it’s a man-blocking scheme, and there’s only one guy between you and the punter. I always asked, ‘How can I get to the punter? This is going to be a game-changing play. If I can block this punt, I can help us win the game.’ I’m thinking, go right through that guy, and we can make a play.”
Gilliam signed with the Bills despite the fact that he did not have an official pro day at Toledo, which was canceled after Toledo moved to distance learning March 18 and NFL teams pulled their scouts off the road. Gilliam taped workouts designed by his trainer, using his cell phone and a tripod, at a practice facility in New Castle, Pa.
Without rookie camps or OTAs, Gilliam is in a holding pattern as he awaits the resumption of football activities in the NFL and is taking part in the Bills' virtual program.
Before the allowed start of rookie minicamp, Gilliam was following a training program designed by his person trainer, and communicates almost daily with the Toledo football strength coach from his family's home in Baltimore. He also is focusing on conditioning and agility.
"I'm waiting to see how this all unfolds," Gilliam said.
When Onatolu learned Gilliam planned to sign as a free agent with the Bills, he said one of the first phone calls he placed was to Heath Farwell, the Bills’ special teams coordinator.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got a great guy,’ ” Onatolu said. “Preparing for him, he was a guy that was just tough, with good size and good physicality. But for him, it was more about the intangible things. He worked really, really hard and that’s what great special teams players do.”
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