Now it is on. Now it begins. Jarryd Hayne has signed a futures/reserves deal with the San Francisco 49ers – my home city – and Australia’s rugby league star will attempt to make the difficult transition to playing in the NFL.
Hayne has an abundance of all the physical gifts you need to play in America’s most popular sport. He is exceptionally powerful, strong, elusive and fast. He’s fast enough for a running back.
Recently at the National Football League Pro Day, the NFL reported Hayne ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash.
Everyone expected the 27-year-old star and NRL’s joint 2014 player of the year to sign with the Detroit Lions, however, after meeting with San Francisco’s new head coach Jim Tomsula, he signed with the 49ers.
Hayne made the connection with Tomsula after an hour long meeting and explained, “he was probably the one coach that knew the transition better than anyone.”
$100, 000 American dollars sweetened the deal, but wasn’t the overriding concern. It was the connection Hayne made with his new head coach and the opportunity to show his skills.
The isn’t new for the 49ers. More than 30 years ago, San Francisco’s late head coach Bill Walsh signed track star Renaldo Nehemiah to a football contract.
Nehemiah was the world record holder in the 110 metres high hurdles and the first man to run the event in under 13 seconds. Nehemiah had blazing speed and played from 1982-1985, but he wasn’t blessed with great hands and the experiment fizzled.
Hayne is a different story. He is simply a remarkable athlete. What sets him apart is his heart, desire and burning ambition to succeed.
However, he faces a very steep learning curve.
The terminology will be difficult. Most kids in America start playing the game around seven years old. It gradually gets more and more complex through high school and college, until you reach the pros. On the field and in the huddle it sounds like rocket science spoken at break neck speed with everything riding on the next play.
The jargon and lexicon can be confusing, especially if a monster linebacker has just smacked your helmet with a ham size forearm.
English might be our mother tongue but football language is complex. Unlike basketball, or baseball, which are reaction sports, football lingo can sound like gibberish unless you’ve grown up around the game. Hayne will wow them with his physical gifts but he will need a lot of time in the classroom studying and looking a game film.
He also needs to get used to wearing shoulder pads, hip pads, a flak jacket and a helmet. That in itself will be a huge adjustment. Looking through a face mask will affect his vision on the field – it is like going from playing almost naked in true rugby style to wrapped up like a mummy, wearing armour and a carrying shield.
Hayne’s best chance of making the squad and securing a place on the team roster is as a “special teams,” player. The guys that run down the field on kickoffs and punts, make tackles, make blocks and return kicks.
His natural athletic ability should just take over and I can envision him running down like a wild man making crushing tackles with reckless abandon.
Once the press gets to know Jarryd Hayne and his story, the people of San Francisco will embrace him and pull for him.
What has always set Hayne apart as an athlete has been heart. And that is how this journey begins.
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