Rumors are spreading that the Reds are going to look at former NFL tight end, Hayden Smith in an attempt to lift them out of their current woes.
Reds looking to secure Hayden Smith
Australian born Smith, left the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, to join a college basketball team after high school, he went on to play international rugby for USA before being drafted by the New York Jets in the NFL and is now playing for Saracens.
The 201cm 116kg lock played seven games for the Jets before being cut in the final round of team selection for the upcoming season.
Richard Graham, who was assistant coach at Saracens, took note of Smith’s abilities, and Graham’s now looking to bring him to Ballymore.
“The Queensland Reds are currently in the market for a big, athletic forward who carries strongly at the line,’’ Graham said. “Hayden is one of the players we will be considering when we make that decision over the next few months.
“I spent a season with Hayden at Saracens when he first transitioned to rugby.
“The level of professionalism he conducted himself with was matched by his strong desire to succeed.
“I am not surprised by what he has achieved in rugby, nor that he managed to beat thousands of other seasoned NFL players to secure a contract with the New York Jets.’’
Smith playing against the Wallabies in the 2011 World Cup
The fact that Smith has already played international rugby for USA. After transitioning to the game so late is testament to his outstanding athletic ability.
Born and raised in Western Sydney, he was expected to sign with the NBL’s Sydney Kings before the team struck financial troubles. Instead he took up a scholarship offer from a university in Denver, Colorado in 2007 where he started playing rugby for a local team.
Within a year he was playing Test rugby for the US and was offered an academy spot with Saracens in London.
Before the season was out, he was in the first-grade squad. After 43 games, Smith decided to try out for the NFL.
Signed by the Jets in December 2012, he became only the second Australian to play in the NFL in a position other than punter. Cut by the Jets, Smith accepted an offer to return to Saracens.
Awesome to see this! Smith is a mountain of a man and has way more athletic ability than many his size. The Reds could absolutely use him.
The school he played basketball for was Metro State University here in Denver, CO, and has been consistently ranked at the very top of the nation for division 2 basketball. The rugby club he played with was the Denver Barbarians, who are now a part of the Pacific Rugby Premiership.