JARRYD Hayne has begun the new phase of his NFL career, going helmet-to-helmet with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Nick Moody and showing the speed that made him an NRL star.
The 49ers are holding their first contact training camp practice in helmets and pads at their Santa Clara headquarters.
Hayne received praise from running back coach Tom Rathman when he met Moody head on with his helmet in a drill, stopping the feared linebacker in his tracks.
Hayne, in his red number 38 jersey, was also admonished by Rathman on occasions, telling the Australian to pick up the pace and power in other drills.
There you go. There you go, Rathman said after Hayne halted Moody with his helmet in one joust.
I like it 38.
The 49ers then moved into a fast-paced offence versus defence game, with Hayne at running back alongside star quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The first snap Kaepernick faked to Hayne and passed long to a receiver.
A few plays later Kaepernick threw a fade pass down the right side of the field, Hayne was in open space, caught the ball and showed the speed that made him an ace in the rugby league world for a 40-yard gain.
Prior to practice, 49ers coach Jim Tomsula explained what he hoped to learn from the session.
First of all ... youre not truly playing ball yet until you get the pads on, Tomsula said.
So, thats the excitement level. Number two, football is a test of will. Its a test of will, its mano e mano, its winning your battle, its putting everything that you have physically and mentally together and busting through obstacles, so you know, the collisions.
Now, the evaluation process, obviously youre seeing if people can translate the weight room work with the explosion work with the speed work. Can we put all that together and can we make it happen. D-Linemen and O-Linemen, obviously its easy to see, whos pushing who, thats a little easier.
You go to DBs and wide receivers, who can get off press? Who can get off those things? Whos good in press? Just evaluating those kinds of things and making sure.
Speaking specifically about Hayne, Tomsula added: And then youve got our, like [RB] Jarryd Hayne, thatll be great to see. Hes tackled before, hes played a physical game where you strike and its body on body, but hes not done it with a pair of shoulder pads and a helmet. So, thats good to see. So, were excited about those things.
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