Zaruba on steep learning curve
Canadian rugby star has first game as an Eagle against Green Bay Packers
Adam Zaruba has travelled the world with the Canadian rugby sevens team. On Thursday, he’ll likely mark another tick on his bucket list by playing in Lambeau Field.
It’s the first NFL exhibition game for the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder from North Vancouver, who is looking to catch on with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers will be his first test.
“It’s something that I’m having trouble wrapping my head around right now — that I’m going to play the Green Bay Packers in a couple of days,” said Zaruba.
The 26-year-old Canadian, who signed a three-year contract with the Eagles on July 24, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne, who made the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 as a running back and returner.
Hayne, who spent most of the season on the practice squad, returned to rugby league after one season.
Zaruba, who played football at high school and briefly at Simon Fraser University, may be short on gridiron experience but is long on physical skills. A big man who can run past — or over — people, his rugby highlight reel contains some eye-popping one-handed grabs.
But his learning curve in the NFL is Everest-steep.
“I’ve kind of been tossed in the deep end without knowing how to swim,” he said. “So I’ve just been trying to figure everything out as I can.”
After little more than a week at camp under his belt, Zaruba’s head is reeling.
“It’s pretty crazy,” he said. “It’s very very cool but it’s tough. It’s an adjustment for sure from what I’ve been used to.
“Physically I’m doing fine. It’s just understanding the plays and getting into the playbook. The technical aspects have been challenging, to say the least.”
He says fellow Canadian rugby players like John Moonlight, Harry Jones and Nate Hirayama are “just as capable physically.
“It’s just (NFLers) have a different skill set. There’s a lot more specific-job people in football. In rugby it’s more like you have to be sort of a jack-of-all-trades kind of thing, especially in sevens. There’s definitely some pretty talented athletes here.”
Special teams will likely also afford him another chance to shine.
A new rule change may help Zaruba in his bid to take it all in. Instead of two cut-down days (from 90 to 75 and then to 53), teams now just have to get their roster down to 53 by 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 3.