Hayne faces steep NFL learning curve

Jarryd Hayne will have to get used to plenty in the NFL and the helmet may be his biggest obstacle says Aussie-born Cowboys punter Tom Hornsey.

If Jarryd Hayne secures his dream of playing in the NFL, he will face 200cm tall, 130kg lineman launching their bodies helmet first at his chest.

But, that's not the biggest challenge.

It's the off-the-field work that could be the roadblock to Hayne making an NFL roster.

"He's going to face a lot of film work and meetings," Geelong-born punter Tom Hornsey, who just signed a two-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, told AAP on Monday.

"Coming from an Australian background, our understanding of the game is pretty limited at the start.

"Understanding the technique, film work, the coverages and schemes is his biggest hurdle."

Like Australia's other current NFL players, Jesse Williams, Brad Wing, David Yankey and Mat McBriar, Hornsey did a long apprenticeship in US college football.

From 2010 to 2013 at the University of Memphis Hornsey was transformed from a green Australian rules punter from the Geelong Football Club to one of the team's stars, earning All-American honours and named best college punter with the Ray Guy Award.

Hayne, who is expected to announce on Tuesday afternoon the NFL team he will play with, is attempting to go directly from the NRL to the NFL.

Hornsey says Hayne has a "good shot" at making it.

"A lot of people would think, 'Oh, he's really talented in the NRL. He'll be able to convert straight to American football because he can break tackles'," Hornsey said.

"It's different being tackled in American football than the NRL.

"In the NFL they tackle with the helmet so the helmet is going into your chest, even though it's illegal now to go with the helmet.

"You have a guy putting all of his power through his helmet into your chest compared to someone wrapping you up."

If Hayne is a punt returner, his NRL skills as a fullback catching the high ball will help, but NFL poses more hurdles.

There's the helmet," Hornsey said,

"You get blind spots in your peripheral vision and it's different catching the ball with pads on."


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Source: AAP


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