Freeport RB Amos Glenn has returned an impressive 7 punt and kick returns for TDs. How has he done it?
BUFFALO TWP — Dread him, kick away from him, Amos Glenn is going to tack touchdowns on the scoreboard all the same.
Freeport’s senior tailback scored seven combined touchdowns on kick and punt returns through the Yellowjackets’ first six outings. Freeport coach John Gaillot thinks Glenn “could’ve had another six. ... He could’ve had, easily, 14 or 15 already,” he said.
“I’m actually surprised they’ve still been kicking to me,” Glenn said.
Glenn said he had “maybe one or two” return scores last season, which prompted opponents to quit giving him chances. If they kick away from him again, they can’t avoid him for long. He’s rushed for 701 yards and 13 touchdowns and is a key cog in the ’Jackets’ attack.
Freeport is 6-1 heading into its non-conference clash with Hopewell on Friday.
“You don’t want me to score (on a return) because it’s a momentum switch, but, at the same time, you don’t wanna give us field position,” Glenn said. “It’s hard for them to make their mind up.”
Would longtime ’Jackets coach John Gaillot kick to his star returner if he was on the opposite sideline?
“No comment,” he said.
Gaillot and the other Freeport coaches shell out for pizza and Dairy Queen Dilly Bars each time the team scores in such a manner. Glenn, who said he doesn’t consider himself a “pizza guy,” just likes to know his blockers are taken care of.
“Because my blockers are amazing, and they’re always on par … I usually don’t get touched,” Glenn said. “The thrill once you hit that gap and you hear the crowd screaming, you just know you’re gone. You just hit that second gear and that’s what really gets me going.”
“It feels just as good to spring stuff,” said junior Danny King, who stands back with Glenn on kick returns and serves as his lead blocker.
Glenn said he’s watched returner extraordinaires such as former NFL star Devin Hester, but there’s no need to overcomplicate things.
“It’s really simple. You have to get vertical,” Glenn said. “You can’t dance. You can’t mess around. … And once you see a gap, you have to hit it.”
“He just has that (knack),” Gaillot said. “It’s like he’s here and kids are grabbing, (then) he’s going by. It’s nuts.”
There aren’t many feelings that compare to catching a punt or kick and having the other 21 players on the field in front of you.
“You’re full speed ahead, lot of open space,” King said.
Glenn’s been clocked at 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He believes he’s even faster now. Despite his gaudy statistics, Glenn hasn’t heard from any programs at the next level, but he’s sent his film to “lower D-I schools, some D-II schools,” he said.
If he keeps it up, he could hear back from someone.
