Failure to finish high school put Hayne's NFL dream on hold
Dropping out of high school cost Jarryd Hayne the chance to become an NFL player three years ago.
Set to announce that he’s secured a rookie contract with an NFL club – believed to be Detroit – on Friday, Hayne has revealed he initially planned to quit the NRL in 2011 and make his way into the NFL from America’s hugely popular collegiate system.
In an exclusive interview with Seven News, to be broadcast tonight, the 27-year-old admitted his failure to finish Year 12 put the dream on the back burner for three seasons.
“Originally I wanted to go when I was 24 and the thing that held me back was that I didn’t finish high school, so I didn’t have any certificates to go to college,” he told Seven News.
“If I had’ve I would’ve went through college and went into the draft.”
Hayne also revealed he’d led a double life from then onwards, secretly training with a part-time Gridiron team before gathering the courage to finally pursue his dream last October.
Without a manager, training regime or even accommodation when he arrived in Los Angles, Hayne attracted scouts from a dozen NFL franchises to watch him audition for a contract on 5 December.
He did enough to secure a week-to-week practice contract five days later, but Visa restrictions prevented him from accepting it and forced him to return to Australia shortly before Christmas.
But before heading home, Hayne visited the three clubs most interested in his services – Seattle, San Fransisco and Detroit.
All three have rookie contracts on the table and Hayne said he would chose the one that offers the most security over the next year.
Hayne told Seven News: “It’s a ruthless business, the NFL, and they can chop and change whenever they want. From my point of view I’m just trying to get a bit of guaranteed money so we know we are going to be there for at least 12 months.”
The two-time Dally M medallist says he has no fixed goals, but won’t be satisfied with playing one game.
Asked about returning to rugby league, Hayne said his heart would always be with Parramatta – something he demonstrated in 2013 when the Bulldogs tried to steal him.
“I did get an offer (from the Bulldogs),” Hayne said.
“For me, I’ve been playing against the Bulldogs my whole life, I had been playing against the Bulldogs since I was 14, they've always been a rival."
“For me it’s obviously about loyalty, I’ve been at Parramatta my whole life, I would never do that. The only way I would ever do that is if Parramatta didn’t want me.”
The full Jarryd Hayne interview airs on Seven News tonight at 6pm.
