Australian Hayden Smith to NFL

[Joe Mac]

A great athlete and a great bloke. Too bad he played USA Rugby so early in his career or he could've been a welcomed addition to Australia's 2nd rower depth.

Hayden Smith goes from Sydney Kings to US rugby union, to Saracens rugby player to potential New York Jets NFL star

• by: Neil Cordy
• From: The Daily Telegraph
• April 03, 2012 12:00AM

Hayden Smith gets to grips with Will Genia while playing for the USA against the Wallabies at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Source: AFP​

HE's tried basketball, rugby union and now Penrith's Hayden Smith is on the verge of making it in the NFL.
And no, he's not a punter.
Smith, a former basketballer and rugby union international for the US, is close to winning a spot on the roster of the New York Jets, one of American football's most famous franchises.
He'd play in the team's offence as a tight end, where, should he make the grade, he'll be a target for two of the sport's hottest quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. It's a remarkable step in one of the most amazing journeys in Australian sport.
The 202cm, 116kg giant was set to join the Sydney Kings in 2008 after a successful stint in US college basketball. But a potential NBL career stalled when the Kings folded, sitting out the next two seasons. Smith, who'd completed a financial degree on a basketball scholarship at Denver's Metropolitan State University, returned to the US and kept fit playing rugby union.
The powerful athlete was soon chosen to play for the US Eagles in last year's Rugby World Cup.
Former Wallabies assistant coach Scott Johnson, then coaching the US Eagles, spotted him playing college rugby for fun and invited him to join the US team.
From there, the 26-year-old carved out a career playing professional rugby in England's Aviva premiership for Saracens.
It wasn't long before NFL scouts noticed his rare mix of agility, handling skills and size. He has trialled with NFL franchises, including Philadelphia, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and finally the New York Jets.
Tim Brewster, the former head coach of the University of Minnesota, is regarded as a tight end guru. He backs Smith to make the transition. "A lot of coaches shy away from guys who haven't played the game because it is an exhausting process," Brewster said.
"To me, that's the exciting part. Taking a piece of clay like that.
"And I am going to tell you Hayden Smith is one beautiful piece of clay. Just mould him into what you want him to be."
AUSSIES IN THE NFL: Punters: Sav Rocca (Washington), Ben Graham (Detroit), Matt McBriar (Dallas), Darren Bennett (San Diego), Colin Ridgway (Dallas); DEFENSIVE END: Colin Scotts (St Louis Cardinals)

 

[wamberal]

Long odds against him being a success. Colin Scotts is still the only Aussie to make it in the NFL, other than specialist punters.

 

[AngrySeahorse]

Among many challenges will be the choreography to be able to celebrate touch downs, gaining ground on every down, every time he or a team mate breathes in & out, etc.

In all seriousness though good luck to him.

 

[Joe Mac]

Here is the update lads- getting some good wraps

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/foot...04-03/hayden-smith-rugby-tight-end/53978274/1

International rugby star joins Jets as tight end​

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Reprints & Permissions​

There's more than one out-of-towner who's very excited to be a member of New York Jets.​

• ​
  Matthew Impey, Saracens Rugby​
  Hayden Smith of the Saracens football club catches the ball during an exhibition match.​

Enlarge​

Matthew Impey, Saracens Rugby​

Hayden Smith of the Saracens football club catches the ball during an exhibition match.

​

We're not talking Tim Tebow, but we could be talking about the NFL's next great tight end. Hayden Smith, 26, is an Australian-born, American college basketball player turned rugby pro who will play football for the first time in his life for coach Rex Ryan.

He's agreed in principle to a three-year deal with the Jets, his agent Jack Bechta confirmed Tuesday afternoon. He'll earn an average $355,000 in salary with about $100,000 guaranteed in his first season.​

"I've always said that you have to follow your dream," Smith tells USA TODAY Sports. "It's worked out well for me so far but its without a doubt the biggest step that I'll be taking and it's something that I'm very excited about."​

Smith is 6-6, 265 pounds, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, speaks in a thick Aussie accent and has never played a down in his life. But he has NFL minds gushing over his potential.​

Former NFL tight ends coach Tim Brewster helped convert Antonio Gates from a college basketball player into an eight-time Pro Bowler with the San Diego Chargers, and worked with Smith in his quest to join the NFL.​

"I was really amazed at a couple of things. First, his ability to assimilate all the information I was throwing at him. Football makes sense to the kid. Second, his work ethic off the charts. He's a way above average athlete for the position. I think the kid has an outstanding future in the National Football League."​

The Jets will sit Smith behind starter Dustin Keller, giving the first-year player an opportunity to learn football basics without pressure. But Smith's no stranger to quick assimilation. He dreamed of being an NBA player, and accepted a basketball scholarship to Division II Metropolitan State in Denver. When the NBA took no interest, he turned to club rugby and quickly caught the eye of the U.S. national program.​

He shocked his American teammates with his understanding of the game. "I didn't really give him much of a chance," says USA Rugby captain Todd Clever. "We get a lot of big athletes and he just came in and you could tell right away that he's different, that he looked at the game differently."​

Success in the Rugby World Cup translated into a position on one of Europe's premier teams, the Saracens of St. Albans, England, where he earned close to $300,000 last season. But Smith saw American football as a greater challenge, and sought out Bechta, who set up a low-key workout with former Chicago Bears scouting director Greg Gabriel.​

"It's something that I always wanted to do growing up in Australia," Smith says. "You look at American pro sports as the world class leagues. It had been a dream to play in the NBA but then also you see the NFL on the same level."​

Smith, Gabriel and Bechta met at the Senior Bowl on Jan. 28 in Mobile, Ala., and sequestered their workout to a remote corner of the practice field once the college athletes had cleared out.​

"I was skeptical," Gabriel says. "This is a guy that's never played the game. I didn't know if he could run a good 40 or even come out of a three-point stance. With that being said, I was pretty amazed.​

"I had to tell him something or explain something to him one time and one time only. Guys who have never been in a three-point stance tend to rise up really quickly. I explained to him once, you don't want to do that, you want to gradually come up. Then it was like he'd done it his whole life."​

Gabriel says a few of his acquaintances from the Canadian Football League wandered into the experiment. Fifteen minutes into the workout, they were willing to sign Smith on the spot.​

"After that I spoke to four or five NFL teams and said you got to take a look at this guy," Gabriel says. "There's too much talent to pass him up. It's going to take him a long time to develop because he hasn't played the game, but there's a lot to work with. He's a freak athlete."​

Brewster says a player such as Smith best suits a coach willing to think outside the box. See Ryan.​

"A lot of coaches shy away from guys that haven't played the game because it is an exhausting process," Brewster says. "To me, that's the exciting part. Taking a piece of clay like that, and I am going to tell you Hayden Smith is one beautiful piece of clay, just mold them into what you want him to be."​

Smith knows there will be a learning curve but isn't fazed by the prospect of picking up a new game on a team full of distractions. He joins a locker room which Pro Bowlcornerback Darrelle Revis last month summed up with one word: "Disarray."​

"In my situation, I'm going to do everything I can to help the organization," Smith says. "We're very fortunate in rugby to have a very strong team culture, and that's something the Saracens in particular pride themselves on. I definitely see the value in having a positive team culture and I'll be very conscious of doing what I can to make that happen.​

"First things first, I need to learn the sport and be able to help the Jets get on the front foot."​

Contributing: National Football Post​

 

[wamberal]

Scotts had the huge advantage of winning a scholarship to the University of Hawaii, where he was able to learn the game in a less pressured environment.

Mark Harris, who played league for Eastern Suburbs, went over for a try out, lots of publicity, but came home with his tail between his legs. He was a big, strong, quick ball runner in league, looked like the type who could have made the grade, but the curve was just too steep.

 

[Joe Mac]

I dont even know what a tight-end is but it is still exciting for the kid. Well done I say

 

[Cave Dweller]

I dont even know what a tight-end is but it is still exciting for the kid. Well done I say

Here you go

4-3 over defense (linebackers shifted to weak-side)

There are hundreds of formations both for defence and offence.

The T-formation, one of the most basic formations in football

Typical Shotgun formation

If he plays the end then he is on the offence side. Basically he must stop those coke machine on wheels getting to his RB on running plays. He is a utility player and needs to be versatile. Because he needs to run patterns and receive the ball as well and is part of the offence ammunition. So he must be able to block and be on the move receiving the ball to make some yards

 

[Joe Mac]

Hayden Smith workout

 

[Scarfman]

He's playing for my Jets so I'll get a good look at him. I've always thought TE was the best position for most rugby players.

 

[Cave Dweller]

It is because you tackle run and block almost like in Rugby.

 

[john deakon]

Great to see. Not many athletes can say they've gone close to the heights (pardon the pun) that he has in one sport, not to mention three. Good luck to him

 

[Scarfman]

Some stories on him at NFL.com over the past few days. The usual rugby union/league confusion, but one saying that Martin Johnson tried out and found that he was too small for a linesman and too immobile for a running / receiving option. Fair enough, too. Some of these blokes look like Martin Johnson and run like Christian Cullen. (Actually, I suppose that makes them Jonah Lomu).

 

[Bullrush]

Wow.....TE is a pretty specialised position. He must be quite an athlete for the NFL to be looking at him so seriously - it's not like they don't have a lot of guys to choose from.

 

[dobduff11]

Wow.....TE is a pretty specialised position. He must be quite an athlete for the NFL to be looking at him so seriously - it's not like they don't have a lot of guys to choose from.

Quite a few basketball players have made the transition to tight end as quality receiving options, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzales being the two notable code switchers.

I dont know how quick or how good his hands are but he could feasibly just line up as an extra receiver rather than a blocker, which is the more technical of the two skills (to learn anyway, if that makes sense...)

 

[Bullrush]

Quite a few basketball players have made the transition to tight end as quality receiving options, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzales being the two notable code switchers.

I dont know how quick or how good his hands are but he could feasibly just line up as an extra receiver rather than a blocker, which is the more technical of the two skills (to learn anyway, if that makes sense...)

Basketball players transitioning doesn't suprise me so much....tall, fast and good hands - I'm think power forwards like Karl Malone would make pretty good TE.

The blocking is pretty important at TE though.....specially for RBs like me!! LOL

 

[frontrowimages]

Hope for his sake Tebow doesn't play much. The guy doesn't throw too well.

 

[en_force_er]

So he's played in the 2nd best basketball league in the world, the rugby world cup, and nfl?

Some publishing house needs to sign this guy up for his biography in 20 years time, NOW.