The NFL season is rapidly approaching and like the dawn of any new sporting year the possibilities are endless. Who will succeed? Who will fail? What surprises await?
Those story lines will soon be written, but three weeks out from the opening game between Pittsburgh and New England on 10 September the most amazing story of all could already be penning its first chapters.
No-one took Australian NRL star Jarryd Hayne too seriously when he made the shock announcement last October he was quitting rugby league to pursue a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. Despite his standing as the best league player in the world – and having rejected the chance to sign the richest contract in NRL history had he stayed – Hayne’s only previous NFL experience was playing X-Box.
Any number of American commentators – most having never heard of Hayne until contacted by the Australian media – pointed out that he would be competing for his opportunity against a field of thousands … all of whom had played the sport since childhood.
He was no chance, they said. A “novelty act” at best.
But then something incredible happened. Having been offered an opportunity by the struggling San Francisco 49ers to prove himself during the summer, Hayne made the 49ers sit up and take notice after scoring a stunning touchdown during a practice match in which he bumped off multiple players on a bruising run to the end-zone. Novelty acts aren’t supposed to do that.
And if his training performance was enough to cause a stir among curious San Francisco fans, his next trick had the entire NFL on notice. Playing in the 49ers’ first Preseason match against Houston – the first competitive game of NFL he had ever played – Hayne burst through the line for a stunning 53-yard rush with just his second touch of the football. It led to the side’s only touchdown of the game and sent social media into meltdown as video of his incredible run went viral.
Hayne is still no guarantee of earning a spot on the 49ers’ final 53-man roster to be announced early September and coach Jim Tomsula has been quick to downplay the hype, but the same media who laughed when they first heard an Australian rugby league player was pursuing his NFL dream have been very quickly converted.
In fact, so unexpectedly impressive was Hayne’s debut – and so inspiring his story – that one US reporter even labelled Hayne the man that could lift San Francisco out of the doldrums of a disastrous 12 months.
“It’s been a rough year … quite possibly the most depressing 12 months any team’s had in the 21st century,” wrote Andrew Sharp on Grantland. “But [Hayne] adds a breath of fresh air to a team that needs it more than any other. Saturday was the first time in months anyone has mentioned the 49ers without sadly shaking their head.”
Another, Frank Schwab from Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner NFL blog, said “He was recognized as the best rugby player in the world. That’s all well and good, but we take American football seriously over here, and not just anyone can come in and compete on this level. And then the guy who said he had tried on football pads ‘two or three times’ before signing with the 49ers in March sliced through the Houston Texans for a 53-yard run.
“You have our attention now, Mr Hayne.”
12 months ago Jarryd Hayne had never even set foot on an NFL field. On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers were rushing to stock local sports stores with his number 38 jersey.
It’s true that for most players, walking off the street into an NFL squad is an impossible feat. But so is becoming the best rugby league player in the world – as evidenced by this highlights package of his time in the NRL . Hayne is a rare talent and while America has had a glimpse of what he has to offer, our bet is that his best is yet to come.
