JARRYD Hayne will spend the next month training in Australia in preparation for his full-on tilt at securing a starting position with an NFL club. Hayne has returned from holidaying in Bali to go straight into a rigorous fitness schedule, including three sessions in just a 24-hour time frame.
The former NRL star is still waiting on unsolved paperwork issues and visa complications before a club, understood to be Detroit, can confirm his signing.
Also under strict guidelines post Super Bowl on February 2, all players are restricted from training at their club’s facility until April.
It’s an agreement the players’ association made under the collective bargaining agreement in order to preserve health and encourage rest.
It’s why the ex-Parramatta fullback will remain in Australia to prepare his body, before leaving for America in approximately four weeks.
Former Australian defensive end Colin Scotts has a simple yet important message for Hayne if he is going to secure a starting position as a running back - one of the NFL’s most complex positions.
“If I was Jarryd I would be walking around with the ball under his arm and letting his family surprisingly try and knock it out,” Scotts said. “That would be a great mental thing to do for him.
“If you fumble the ball as a running back your career is pretty much gone, because they don’t accept it. “So there is a real art to holding that ball under chest and making sure it’s locked in. “It sounds weird, but if he is taking on running back that’s the No.1 thing you must do well.
“Everybody is after the ball in the NFL, so that ball becomes your lifeline as a running back. “But just to hold the ball alone is a whole different conditioning that he has got to learn.
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It’s not like rugby league where you can hold the ball loose, because you’ve got to hold it into your chest like it’s your own baby that someone is trying to take away from you.
“It’s that intense, because everyone is trained to come in head first and steal that ball out of your hands.
“So the number one thing I’d be doing now is holding onto the ball, even sleep with it under your arm.”
Scotts also backed Hayne’s recent holiday, saying the rest will be vital as he prepares for the most gruelling 12 months of his professional sporting career.
“Jarryd has had time to get away from the American intensity and reflect,” he reasoned.
“He has done good numbers in the strength and speed, so it’s a good thing that he has been able to give his body a bit of a break. “Stretching will be the key.
“Then once he gets signed up to a club he can focus on the task at hand.”
While it’s an honourable accomplishment for Hayne to earn a futures squad contract, Scotts insists the hard work starts now.
He said Hayne’s progression has been pleasing, he is realistically 12 months away from landing a starting position on a team.
“But the beauty of it is if he gets the security of a team he can start to learn a lot,” he said.
“That’s when the team will start embracing him and a team like Detroit have got patience.
“They are one of the few teams who are patient with emerging players.
“So Jarryd just needs a team to start learning their playbook and what playing running back is all about.
“But it’s going to be long and stressful process that could end quickly, so from the start he has got to impress and I’m sure he’ll do that.”
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...d-to-secure-club/story-fnp0lyn3-1227195047932
