Bet on Jarryd Hayne to Make the San Francisco 49ers
Jun 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jarryd Hayne (38) participates in drills at minicamp at Levi
We’ve seen all kinds of athletes from different sports try their hand at football in the NFL. There are elements from a these different sports that translate well to a given position of a football field. It goes for soccer to kicker, from basketball power-forward to tight end, from sprinter to receiver or corner and shot putter to nose tackle.
The running back position requires a wide range of talents so there are a lot of sports that can produce one. The sport of rugby has a wide range of talents from running to power and that sport is now bringing us Jarryd Hayne. Hayne is taking a big risk here because he was already one of the best players in the sport of rugby.
And CSN Bay Area has quoted fellow running back Reggie Bush as saying, “”I’m sure he’ll make it, I don’t think there’s any doubt in anybody’s mind he’ll make the roster. “He has all the talents and athleticism to be able to play in this league and to be able to play at a high level in this league. I think making the team is actually the least of his worries.”
Hayne is 6’2″, 225 pounds and runs a 4.53 40-yards dash, just .o1 slower that first round pick Melvin Gordon. Watching some tape of him play rugby made me see what Bush was saying because he is skilled at running with a ball. With his size, he has good power, balance and surprising elusiveness.
And his second carry of the game against the Houston Texans Saturday went for 53 yards. He bursted through big hole at the line of scrimmage, shook a defender and sprinted the rest of the way. It looked like he would have made it all the way if he didn’t stumble while putting the move on the defender too.
I’m going to jump on that wagon and say he’ll make the team too.