Update: Rugby Players in the NFL

Hayden Smith (#82) on his Jet debut.

Hayden Smith made his debut for the NY Jets over the weekend, and to make the occasion let's get an update on rugby players in the N.F.L. and college football.

Hayden Smith: As was mentioned, Smith made his debut for the Jets against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. Late last week, Smith was signed to the 53-man gameday roster after spending the first part of the season on the practice squad. It's common for teams to sign players to their practice squad and then to call them up if there are injuries.

Take the jump to read more.


The fact that Smith was able to make the gameday roster this season is quite and accomplishment. A year ago he had no experience playing American football, let alone at the pro level. Smith was with Saracens and looking for a new experience. It's a great testament to Smith, and to his rugby background, that he was able to make such a move so quickly. Unfortunately for the Jets, they are in last place in their division.

Nate Ebner: The former Junior All-American captain has also parlayed his rugby strengths into a good run of form in the N.F.L. Ebner, who only has a couple of years experience with American Football himself, has played in all eight of the New England Patriots games, including a match against the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium last weekend. He made four tackles in the game to bring his season total up to seven. While he primarily played special teams early on in the season, he has received more time recently as New England have suffered several injuries. Still, it says something about Ebner that the coaching staff trusts him. The Patriots are first place in their division.

Johnson Bademosi: Like Ebner, Bademosi overcome long-shot odds to make the gameday roster but has excelled to feature in all eight of the Cleveland Browns games so far. Bademosi has made nine tackles on the year and looks to be getting regular time. That means that any chance that Bademosi may return to rugby could be a long way away, but at least he's excelling. The same can't be said of his team, however, who are last in their division with only two wins on the season.

Thretton Palamo: As we mentioned in our last update, Palamo made the move from offense to defense this year but it hasn't seemed to result in more playing time. He has played in three matches so far and assisted in two tackles while only making one solo tackle. He's still a junior and has one more year left, but one wonders how long he'll stick with football since he hasn't made as big of an impact as he had hoped. Utah has only win three games and lost five.

Paul Lasike: Fresh from BYU's national championship last year, Paul Lasike went straight into the American Football team. Lasike has played in seven of BYU's eight games so far this season and has registered 25 receiving yards and 65 rushing yards as a running back. Only a sophomore, it seems that Lasike still has time to grow into the position. BYU is 5-4 on the season.