INSIDE EX-BRONCO’S AUDACIOUS AMERICAN SWITCH

A PlayStation has become the secret weapon in one-time Brisbane Broncos hopeful Jotham Russell’s audacious bid to reach the NFL.

“I downloaded Madden NFL and brought my PlayStation so I can still be learning something in my time off,” Russell, 20, tells CODE Sports of the past two months learning the game with 15 other hopefuls as part of the NFL’s international player pathway program.

Russell was a self-confessed American football novice just months back, so playing the famed NFL simulation video game is helping him with the often-confusing terminology of his new sport.

His knowledge today is a far cry from the first few days of the program at the IMG Academy in Florida. “I was lost, it did not take long for me to feel completely out of the loop,” Russell says. “It was like learning a new language.”

The six days a week, and 12 hours a day, on the field or in the classroom over the past two months has helped fasttrack his learning. But at night, the lesson rolls on.

The PlayStation goes on and allows Russell to put the lessons of the day into a match context, albeit via a screen.

“My coaches say that playing Madden football is one of the best things you can do to learn the game,” he says. “We’re all competitive with it.”

The nightly video game competition between program participants was supplemented by studying all the NFL playoff games through January and February, with coaches riding shotgun to explain the details.

“We’re a sponge, we’ve got 10 weeks to get as much as we can, and I was taking the baby steps and crawling,” Russell says. “But now I’m feeling like I’m running, so I’ve come a long way.”

Originally from Canberra, Russell moved to the Gold Coast at age 10 and took up rugby league.

He made a Broncos development squad at 16 but when his contract ended, it appeared Russell’s dream of playing professional sport was over.

Last year, he was playing in the Tweed Seagulls’ Under 21 QRL team in front of a small gathering of family and friends; now, he’s in the system to potentially play in front of hundreds of millions of fans.

He didn’t even follow an NFL team when the call came to try out for the international player pathway program, yet a friend from his local rugby league club pointed him towards the opportunity by highlighting the success of Aussie Philadelphia Eagle Jordan Mailata.

“I looked into podcasts and YouTube videos and that was the first time when my eyes opened as to what it is and how it could be life changing,” he says.

Everything quickly.

He worked out for NFL Australia in November and by happened

January, he’d been selected and packed up his life on to a plane to Florida, pegged for an outside linebacker and pass rushing position.

When he stepped off the plane, the 193cm and 110kg Russell went from playing league as a virtual amateur on the weekends to becoming a full-time professional athlete. For some, that change can become all-consuming and suffocating, yet Russell seems to be thriving.

“It’s just a step above, we have 12-hour planned days and it shows what we’d be doing if I did make an NFL team,” he says.

“(Professional sport) was always the goal.

I had friends whose job was rugby, so it’s very exciting to have the laser focus of having one goal that you’re putting your life towards.”

Apart from his PlayStation, Russell has another mentor alongside him in fellow Aussie and former Gold Coast Suns AFL player Patrick Murtagh, who is taking part in the program for the second time.

“I was very fortunate to have him in Australia for that month before I moved here, doing some workouts with him and he really helped me adapt to the sport,” Russell says.

“Speaking to Pat initially, the way he could speak about the sport, I would have no idea what he was saying. Now, I can actually have a conversation with him about what’s going on, so that’s the biggest change.”

Murtagh knows the dizzying highs and crushing lows of the NFL dream that he and Russell now share.

Last year, he graduated from the program and was added to the Detroit Lions’ squad as a prospective tight end, with understandable fanfare. A contract seemed a formality after his mandatory medical. “The boys were starting training but I wasn’t allowed to yet, because I hadn’t signed the contract,” Murtagh tells CODE Sports.

The contract never came.

Back in his hotel room, the news came that the medical had uncovered a hip issue requiring surgery. Instead of training camp with the Lions, he was going home. Three days after entering the Lions locker room, Murtagh was packing his bags, shattered but not defeated.

“It was a shock at first when I heard the news. Obviously it was pretty hard to take but I understand sport is a business and people come and go,” he says. “Once I got a taste of it and saw my name on the locker in Detroit, it was pretty clear that I wanted to get back there again.

“I’m sitting next to the likes of Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, I was like a kid in a candy store taking it all in.”

With his hip fixed and rehabilitation done, Murtagh believes he is now better physically and skill-wise than he was last year, when he showed enough to attract the Lions’ interest.

“I feel a lot more confident this time around.

“I had a good support network back home, whether that was the gym, the physio or family and friends, and I felt a lot more confident in my body.”

Next week, Russell and Murtagh will show their wares for NFL team scouts at an international player pathway skills combine. From there, they will wait for the NFL Draft and roster spots via the program.

In both Australians’ favour is that last year when Murtagh was initially nabbed by the Lions, a maximum of eight athletes from the program could be listed for the 17th practice squad spot at a team across the NFL. This year, all 32 teams are eligible to list a player from the program, giving a much larger scope to find an NFL home for next season.

However, if it doesn’t happen this year, the experience of Murtagh has told Russell that his quest will not be over. “The flight home will not be my last time here,” he says. “Whether it’s with this program or not, this is my future. I’ve dedicated myself towards it and this is what I’m going to do.”