Rugby star joins Jets as tight end
Hayden Smith, 26, an Australian-born American college basketball player-turned-rugby pro, will play football for the first time in his life for the New York Jets.
He agreed in principle to a three-year deal and will earn an average of $355,000 in salary, with about $100,000 guaranteed his first season.
“I’ve always said that you have to follow your dream,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s worked out well for me so far, but it’s without a doubt the biggest step that I’ll be taking and it’s something that I’m very excited about.”
Smith (6-6, 265 pounds) runs the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, has a thick Australian accent and hasn’t played a down in his life. But he has NFL minds gushing over his potential.
Former NFL tight ends coach Tim Brewster, who helped convert Antonio Gates from a college basketball player into an eight-time Pro Bowl player with the San Diego Chargers, has worked with Smith in his quest to join the NFL. “I was amazed at his ability to assimilate all the information I was throwing at him,” Brewster said.
The Jets will use Smith as a backup behind Dustin Keller, giving the first-year player an opportunity to learn football basics without pressure. But Smith is no stranger to quick assimilation. He once dreamed of being an NBA player and accepted a basketball scholarship to Division II Metropolitan State in Denver. When the NBA took no interest, he turned to club rugby and quickly caught the eye of the U.S. national program.
He shocked his U.S. teammates with his un- derstanding of the game. “I didn’t really give him much of a chance,” USA Rugby captain Todd Clever said. — Robert Klemko
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