Giants punter ‘Scottish Hammer’ Gillan pays tribute to HBCU

By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer

WARE, England (AP) — New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan — whose nickname is the “Scottish Hammer” — took an unusual route to the NFL. Before he celebrates a homecoming when the Giants face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in London, he wanted to pay tribute to his alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. It’s a historically Black university — an HBCU — and Gillan had no idea what that meant when he accepted their scholarship offer. He thought it was “a sponsor or something.” The 25-year-old says the school “made me who I am right now. It was great.” Gillan had moved to southern Maryland as a teenager. Gillan’s parents, sister and close friends will be in attendance Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.