http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-officially-sign-rugby-player-1.3648160 What a interesting and will be fun to watch goin forward move this is... TE... really? Obviously as the primary blocker TE.
Australian rugby player Hayden Smith has agreed to a three-year deal with the New York Jets despite having never played American football in his life. Smith's agent Jack Bechta confirmed the deal to USA Today on Tuesday, saying he will earn a $355,000 salary, with about $100,000 guaranteed. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/New-York-Jets-sign-australian-rugby-player-Hayden-Smith-040312 Are you fuggin kiddin me 3 years???
Apparently he is 6'8, 255, and runs in the 4.75 range. The kid has never played lick of football though, not only does he not know all the rules, he has never blocked anybody, run routes, or even really tried to get open. He's going to be a huge project, at least a year before he even seems game action.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/e...ugby-player-hayden-smith-coach-sees-him-as-te Reported as 6" 6 2 of 3 so far. AND this time hes 26. Im gonna wager hes a cather.
But like many aspects of the NFL its gonna be one that draws my interest from here on. Boom or bust. Damn 6' 8 now... at least his 40 time and weight are staying consistent per report.
A bit like the Vaughan Martin signing....... a big unknown, but possible big upside. They aren't risking much money, either way.
But Martin played football, Canadian sure, but football. This kid apparently has never played a single snap of AMERICAN football. haha
BUT he has played Basketball which is more of a modern day pre requisite for a unknown/undrafted potential TE anyway.
True that. In which case I'm surprised the Broncos who seem to draft every PF/TE Antonio Gates wannabe, wernt in on this guy. Or maybe they were.
Martin never played American football either. If you think 2 years of Canadian football is a big advantage, then I'll have to laugh in your general direction.
This is definitely "April news", as opposed to "August news". We'll see...he'll have as good of a chance as Brock Lesnar's attempt in Minnesota. Oy! Oy! Oy! (or something like that).
He didnt work out for them anyway: He had tried out with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and finally the Jets.
Damn he looks like he gets more of his speed from his size than he does from being naturally fast. Then again in that workout vid he could be running against that vicious wind. Honestly, not seeing the Superstar calibur. Need see him catchin a football in stride.
I think its a start, at least they know things like gap terminology, blocking technique, and what post route is (also known as an 8 route, but he wouldn't know that) and have actually executed these things in live games. This kid is starting from square one at the highest level. Not saying its doomed, but my goodness I wouldn't waste a roster spot on our team right now for a project like that.
And he got a dirt cheap contract for the Jets which leads to what I suspected, none of these other teams thought he was worth the time and engery. The Jets are motivated by headlines right now, they've got short man syndrome playing in the same city as the Giants.
Hmmmm, OK, a few things you poor Yanks need to get accustomed with firstly in regards to Rugby players. One....I've never heard of this kid, so he obviously wasn't world class at Rugby or he'd be playing with one of the Super League teams, not a second rate English mob like Saracens. Two, there are TWO codes of Rugby, both are very different in the way they are played, he obviously played Rugby UNION, not Rugby LEAGUE, judging by the picture above.........................and NO TH17, just because he was catching that throw-in, doesn't mean he's a"cather" (whatever that is ?) And Matty, "never blocked anybody" !!!!....seriously !............you haven't watched much rugby in your time, have you. Being 6' 7" and 265 lbs with a rugby background, I really don't see playing him as anything other than "a predominently blocking TE" and believe that would be something the kid can pick up rather quickly, last I checked its not brain surgery is it ? Joy Divy ................get it right Man ........... its "Aussie, Aussie Aussie............Oi, Oi, Oi !!!!" (your welcome) Now after reading that he was going to play for the Sydney Kings basketball team, that tells me he must have some decent hand-eye coordination to be able to play at that level, so as far as being able to catch an American football shouldn't be a problem at all. now learning routes/plays etc will be the thing thats totally new to him, that he wouldn't have dealt with in any of his past sporting endevours. I'll be keeping an eye out for the guy all the same and be interested to see how he progresses.
Catcher. lol just noticed that little grammatical err. Looked like a jump ball to me, throw in whatever. I need to see more *catching* from this guy to be sure, but looks like he very well could work out to be a primary blocker that ALSO catches 1st downs. (BManu)
he's large, tough, and a professional athlete. He'll have to learn the Jets' blocking scheme, and learn how to make reads on option routes, as well as a basic route tree. Bottom line is this. If he turns out to be even an above average back up, the Jets will have made a great acquisition in terms of cap dollars. If the guy is garbage, then the risk for the Jets is virtually nothing.
And if he isn't constantly on Twitter, or fathering children out of wedlock, then it's a win/win for the Jets.
I just hope he doesn't hurt any of the American players, he'll get a bad rep for playing to rough let alone all the fines.
With the amount of money they risked, this was a good play. I only see upside from this movie. And if he is a bust, they are ONLY out $100,000. I would risk that for a guy of this size, who CAN take/give a hit. I am really curious to see how this guy plays with 4 months of practice/training.
