Mardy Gilyard – Wide Receiver – Cincinnati
Height: 5-11⅞ | Weight: 187 | 40-Time: 4.60
2008: Named the 2008 BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year after a league-high 28.0-yard kickoff return average (11th in the country) and scoring two touchdowns on kickoff returns … named first-team all-BIG EAST as a wide receiver and on special teams … earned BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 8 and Nov. 9 … earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition three times (Sept. 29, Nov. 17, Nov. 30) … awarded a helmet sticker by ESPN’s College Gameday Final crew after his performance at No. 4/4 Oklahoma … team leader with 11 receiving touchdowns, tying him for sixth place in the single-season school record book … set a UC single-season record with 1,276 receiving yards (20th in the country) … ranks third in school history with 11 receiving touchdowns in a season … averaged a team-high 15.8 yards a catch … shattered the 28-year old UC school record for single-season kickoff return yards with 897 yards (652, Russell Cooper, 1980) … against Eastern Kentucky had one kick return for 26 yards and finished the game with 101 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns … scored a 97-yard touchdown on a kick return at No. 4/4 Oklahoma, snapping UC’s 13-year, 145-game streak without a kickoff return for a touchdown … set a BIG EAST record with 246 yards on kickoff returns and had a school-record 365 all-purpose yards (119 receiving, 246 return yards) at No. 4/4 Oklahoma … had six catches for 69 yards, one touchdown, and two kick returns for 33 yards against Miami (OH) … finished the game with two touchdowns against Akron, recording 146 yards on seven catches … pulled down seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown at Connecticut, returning four kicks for 76 yards … pulled down four receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, and returned two kicks for 42 yards vs. USF … ran the opening kickoff of the game back 100 yards for a touchdown, tying him with Walter Heuck (vs. Denison, 1910) for the longest TD in school history at West Virginia … the 100-yard kick return is the 13th 100-yard touchdown return in BIG EAST history and the first since Louisville’s Trent Guy ran one back 100 yards on Sept. 15, 2007 against Kentucky … at Louisville, had five receptions, one touchdown, 73 yards and four kick returns for 109 yards … had a touchdown, eight receptions, 110 yards and three kick returns for 66 yards against Pittsburgh … recorded his fifth 100-plus yard receiving game of the season and the seventh of his career, finishing with 11 receptions and 114 yards against Syracuse … also had three kick returns for 56 yards vs. the Orange … notched a then-season and career-high 136 receiving yards, including a season-long 69-yard game-winning touchdown catch at Hawai’i … hauled in seven catches for a season and career-best 158 yards and a touchdown in the FedEx Orange Bowl … also returned four kickoffs for 97 yards.
2007: Returned to the team as a scholarship player after sitting out the 2006 season because of academic reasons … started at wide receiver in seven of the 12 games in which he played … notched a pair of 100-yard receiving games and finished the season third on the team with 36 catches for 536 yards and three touchdowns … made a splash in the season opener by totaling eight receptions for 134 yards, including a 56-yard score against Southeast Missouri State … blocked a punt in back-to-back games against Oregon State and at Miami (OH) … notched a 14-yard catch and a 30-yard punt return vs. Oregon State … totaled 43 all-purpose yards on two receptions for 10 yards, a 19-yard kickoff return and a 14-yard punt return at Miami (OH) … tallied four catches for 44 yards vs. Marshall … finished with five grabs for 97 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown at Rutgers … registered three receptions for 38 yards against Louisville … snared three receptions for 100 yards, including a 76-yarder, before the half, at USF … returned two kickoff s 55 yards vs. West Virginia … missed the regular season finale due to injury … returned a combined two kickoff s for 69 yards, including a career-long 42-yarder in the Papajohns.com Bowl.
2006: Redshirted … winner of the Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Year Award.
2005: Emerged as a steady contributor in the secondary and on special teams … became a backup at cornerback … recorded seven tackles, six solos … had three tackles, all solos, vs. Pittsburgh … broke off a 60-yard kick return vs. Miami (OH), his first college return and the longest by a Bearcat since 2002 … averaged a team-leading 25.1 yards on seven returns.
Flagler Palm Coast High School: First-team Class 5A all-state selection … helped school to an 8-2 record and a spot in the state playoffs as a senior for coach Steve Allen … capped his career with over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns … named MVP of the Florida Coast All-Star Game … three-time all-league and all-area selection in track and field.
Marshwan Gilyard: Born Dec. 2, 1986 … son of Addison Morgan and Viola Crudup.
Academic Major: Sociology.
Strengths:
Super smooth athlete — Good height — Exceptionally quick — Fast with excellent acceleration — Explosive with a burst — Terrific feet and change of direction skills — Soft, reliable hands — Nice body control and ball skills — Extremely elusive and a real terror in space — Superb vision — Shows the ability to separate — Tough and not afraid to work the middle — Experienced — Productive — Also a fantastic return man.
Weaknesses:
Needs to add weight and bulk up — Isn’t real strong — Not a polished route runner — Struggles to beat the jam — Won’t really climb the ladder — Has lapses in concentration at times — Isn’t necessarily a vertical threat — Despite giving solid effort is just an average blocker at best — Might have some character issues — Durability is a concern.
Notes:
First name is actually “Marshwan” — Was a three-year starter for the Bearcats — Named 1st Team All-Big East in 2008 and 2009 — Won back-to-back Big East Special Teams Player of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009 — Garnered 2nd Team All-American notice in 2009 — Has his scholarship revoked in 2006 due to poor academic performance and spent six months living with friends and even out of a car while working a handful of jobs in order to earn enough money to re-enroll — Has displayed a lot of perseverance and by all accounts he learned from past mistakes and matured — Dealt with a series of nagging ankle injuries — Averaged 28.6 yards on 93 kick returns with 4 touchdowns during his career and also returned 22 punts for an 11.8 average and 1 touchdown — A versatile all-around weapon and dynamic playmaker who truly is a threat to score each and every time he touches the ball.