Jarryd Hayne’s No. 38 traces back to his Australian rugby league start
Posted on April 20, 2015 by Cam Inman
Former Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne will don No. 38 in his attempt to make the 49ers. He shared that number’s sentimental meaning in an Instagram post Monday night.
“The reason 38 means everything to me. In 2005 at 17 (years) old I made the Parramatta NRL preseason squad. I was given the squad number #38.
“Making that squad was a huge step to fulfill a childhood dream of playing in the NRL,” Hayne’s post continued. “That number remained significant to me as it was the first number I received being a professional athlete.
“Now 10 years later on the other side of the world I get the opportunity to fulfill another dream. Was overwhelmed when I found out it was available at the #49ers because I wanted to represent that time of my life. #38 Love that I get to bring a bit of my past into my future.”
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No. 38 previously belonged to running back Marcus Lattimore, though never in a game during the past two seasons in his aborted comeback attempt from a college knee injury; Lattimore retired Nov. 5.
Cornerback Kenneth Acker also wore No. 38 last exhibition season before a foot fracture sidelined him throughout his rookie year. Acker now wears No. 24.
What are Hayne’s chances of making the 49ers roster come September, which would be a long shot if based merely on the fact he’s never played football? Hayne (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) is no ordinary athlete, however, and left Australia as the National Rugby League’s reigning player of the year.
General manager Trent Baalke is as curious as anyone to see how Hayne’s talents might transition to the gridiron, so much so that the 49ers guaranteed him over $100,000 as part of a three-year, $1.5 million deal.
While discussing the 49ers running back candidates, Baalke brought up Hayne’s name last week, stating: “Jarryd, you know, we’ll see. That’s going to be a work in progress. But as an athlete, very talented.
“All you have to do is pull up the YouTube videos and watch some of the stuff he does athletically,” Baalke added. “Now, can he go on a NFL field and learn the pass protections? He can catch a football as well as most people we’ve seen do it their whole lives, because that’s the game over there. He can field punts extremely well. He can certainly field kickoffs. And he can run down and cover people on the coverage teams.
“How quickly he can transfer those physical skills into the game of football, we’re going to find out,” Baalke concluded.
The 49ers took a similar flier on another international athlete two years ago, when they signed British discus thrower Lawrence Okoye as a defensive lineman. Okoye’s bid to make his NFL debut is entering its third season, having spent his rookie season on injured reserve (knee) and last year on the practice squad.
