Jarryd Hayne is this year's Tim Tebow.
New 49ers coach Chip Kelly has a special interest in the former Australian rugby player and how that might translate in his offense, according to Pro Football Talk.
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"We haven't spent a ton of time speaking about individual players on a roster yet but I'll tell you he's well aware of Jarryd and Jarryd's story, as is everyone in the National Football League by now," San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke said to The Sydney Morning Herald, via PFT. "He's excited to get his hands on him, the whole coaching staff is. We'll find out in short order who fits and who doesn't fit."
Hayne became somewhat of a celebrity in 2015, making the successful transition from professional rugby to American football by earning a spot on the 49ers' roster.
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The Australian transplant then proceeded to fumble a punt on his first play in the NFL. San Francisco released him in Week 7 after he muffed three punts in his first six games, according to NFL.com. The 49ers brought him back and put him on their practice squad, promoting him to their active roster in Week 16, when he ran for 27 yards on nine carries against the Lions.
"He works hard and I would expect him to make a nice jump from year one to year two," Baalke told The Sydney Morning Herald via NFL.com. "Now is that going to be enough to establish himself on the 53 within this system, I don't know. But he's going to be given every opportunity like we promised him going into this."
Kelly spent the 2015 preseason molding Tebow into a quarterback that could play in his system with the Eagles. After an up-and-down preseason, Tebow appeared to have made huge strides and looked to have the third-string quarterback spot wrapped up.
Except when Kelly pulled out the rug from underneath him and eliminated the third-string quarterback position from the active roster.
Hayne should get his opportunities to showcase his skills, but don't expect his preseason workload to represent whether he remains on the roster.
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