Australian Rugby Star Jarryd Hayne Quits to Try for Career in NFL

Jarryd Hayne, a fullback with the Parramatta Eels of the NRL, and with the Australian national team, announced that he was quitting rugby to try for a career in the NFL. Hayne was just voted co-Player of the Year in the Daily M Awards two weeks ago, so this is kind of a big deal in Australia. Hayne is 26 years old, and according to the player bio (once you convert from metric) is about 6’2″ and 220 pounds.

What position would he play? He would be on the taller end for a running back, but lanky compared to other “taller” backs. He would be similar in size to receivers like Dez Bryant or Mohamed Sanu. Oh, and among the players listed at similar size in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers is at 6’2″, 223 pounds. I don’t think Rodgers has anything to worry about, though. His best option is to be some hybrid of a smallish TE/H-back/receiver out of the backfield.

Hayne is coming to the United States without any contract from a NFL team. He did travel last month and met with the Seattle Seahawks. Hayne said that he had been contemplating the decision for 2 years; his club was just informed of the move last night, according to the Daily Telegraph.

[photo via Herald Sun]