Former Toledo tight end/fullback Reggie Gilliam did not have a chance to showcase his skills at a Toledo pro day this March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The special teams ace, with the physical tools that could have shined in a pro-day setting, then went undrafted coming out of Toledo.
But given a chance as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, Gilliam is doing what he has done his whole career — making the most of an opportunity and turning heads with his work ethic and no-nonsense attitude.
Gilliam, a former walk-on at Toledo, is entrenched in a battle for the starting fullback position with veteran Patrick DiMarco. He is doing everything he can to show the coaches he belongs.
"I walked on at Toledo, so it's the same mindset for me all the way through," Gilliam said. "I know everything I have to do is earned and nothing is given to me. I have to come in every day like I may not be there tomorrow. I have to go in and work and earn my spot and show them I deserve to be there. That's the mindset I take going to work every day."
In the midst of his battle to make the team as a fullback, Gilliam is already making his mark on special teams.
“Reggie is a smart player that has picked up special teams as good as we have on this team as far as the rookies,” Bills special teams coordinator Heath Farwell recently told media members. “He’s a talented player, obviously. You guys are aware of his history in college, but all phases I think has been impressive. He’s done a good job in the kicking game, whether it’s punt protection, whether it’s kickoff return. He’s done a really good job.”
As a junior at Toledo in 2018, Gilliam set a school record with four blocked kicks and he proved himself as a valuable special teams player throughout his college career.
It was an avenue for him to get on the field early in his Toledo career and could be the same thing at the NFL level with the Bills.
"It's even more magnified at this level," Gilliam said. "An undrafted guy like me, that's where I would end up playing if I were to make the team. I have to be really good on special teams and my time at Toledo helped me with that. Being with [former Toledo special teams coordinator Robby Discher] all the time and watching the film on how we can affect the game on special teams really helped me out."
Without rookie minicamp, OTA's, and preseason games, it has been a very different offseason for all NFL rookies. Gilliam is doing the best he can to internalize the Bills' playbook while getting reps in practice.
"It's a process learning the playbook," Gilliam said. "The only way to get to know more about it is through repetition. Even when there is nobody out there, me and some of the other rookies will stay after and go over some plays. That's just the best way to learn it. You can't expect to know as much as the vets know after just one camp. You just have to stay on it. It's more of a process — you don't look at it after one day and say, 'I know the playbook now.’"
Gilliam said DiMarco has been a valuable resource for him even though the two are battling for the same position.
"Patrick has been really helpful," Gilliam said. "He told me from the first day that I got there that he was going to give me every tip and everything he knew to make me a better player. He's not trying to hold out just because we are competing against each other. He said he's going to help me with whatever he can whether it's offense or special teams. He has been doing that. After practice, we'll stay on the field and do some drills together."
While admitting the fullback is a bit of a dying breed in the NFL, Gilliam said a good fullback can be a difference-maker for a successful team.
"You have to be the hard-nosed guy that is going in and opening up holes for the guy that is running behind them and make the key blocks to propel the offense," Gilliam said. "Then on special teams, it's got to be the guy who is running down and making tackles. The fullback is kind of a dying position, but the teams that have a good fullback usually do really well as far as going far in the playoffs."
Gilliam is used to the grind of trying to prove himself at a new level dating back to his time at Toledo. Thrust into training camp without the normal rookie offseason, Gilliam isn't dwelling on the missed time.
"For me, it's not anything different because I haven't experienced those things before," Gilliam said. "So I'm coming at it with the mindset that I have to show up and show out every day."
First Published August 27, 2020, 7:33 p.m.
