Welsh star gets to grips with gridiron
Bradenton – When Wales and British Lions rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit (right) arrived in Florida to begin his bid to make it into the NFL he was quickly given proof that his dream could be realised.
As soon as Rees-Zammit and the other class of 2024 at the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program had checked in at the IMG Academy, Jordan Mailata, the Australian former rugby league player who reached the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 season, was in touch.
“The day we landed here, I had three or four texts from Jordan asking ‘when can I meet the guys?’” said the NFL’s head of the IPP James Cook.
“I told him, ‘you are always welcome’ and the next day he texted me back and said ‘OK, my flights are booked, I am there next week’.”
Offensive tackle Mailata is the most successful case of a player switching from rugby to the NFL and was named as a Pro Bowl alternate for the past two seasons.
The Australian kept his word and spent four days with the players, taking part in all their activities – on the field and in the classroom.
“He was great with us, he taught us a lot, especially in the classroom, he went through his whole experience and we understood that he was sat here one day and then went on to do great things,” Rees-Zammit told AFP in an interview.
“He was massive when it came to advice and because he came in early, we were able to use that advice and put it on the field,” he added.
Englishman George Smith, who played second row for Coventry in English rugby and is looking to play as offensive tackler in the NFL, said the knowledge of Mailata’s success led him to respond positively to the offer from the IPP.
“He was a real big influence in the whole decision to come out here. I watched him online and thought – yes, people can do this. Then I met him here and now he is someone who I can call, text, if I need any help. He’s very passionate about it,” he said.
The players had 10 weeks at the camp to get themselves ready for a 20 March “Pro Day” trial when NFL team staff will examine them and potentially offer them spots on their rosters.
Such a short time-frame makes for an intensive programme with players living on the campus and dedicating themselves to 12-hour days of activities.
As well as on-field drills, practice and gym sessions there is the all-important digestion of the complex rules of the game and samples of the kind of “playbooks” they may be given by teams.
Cook says the key to the IPP’s approach is to create NFL players without losing the special attributes that the athletes bring from other sports.
Rees-Zammit already has the ball-handling skills from playing as a winger at the highest level in rugby union but has been predominantly learning how to run the routes that wide-receivers use to get into open space for a catch. –