In an exclusive interview with BOYLE Sports, Christian Scotland-Williamson has said that Louis Rees-Zammit’s return to Rugby is no surprise, but he’s backing him to succeed.
The former Worcester Warriors and Harlequins lock also reflects on his experiences playing as a tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, noting the physical requirement needed, along with the importance of mindset.
The crossover athlete also detailed the amount of learning that goes on off the field, detailing the hundreds of hours put in away from the pitch and the requirement to become an “encyclopedia.”
Rugby Return
Rees-Zammit Rugby Return “No Surprise”
Am I surprised? No. Being completely candid, how you heard him speak about the opportunity, how I felt like the door was almost kind of left open by him for a return to rugby, made me question how successful that transition would be, given that he didn't burn his boats with rugby.
If you make a switch, you have to have a mindset that you commit to it totally. There are a lot of fast people in the NFL. Everyone's a good athlete, but it's the mental side that really separates you and really gives you the opportunity to actually compete, having never played before.
With that in mind, if the way you approach it is that you could always go back to rugby, if you have that safety valve, I don't know that in the dark times that you will inevitably experience, it will allow you to really push that extra per cent to make a success of the transition.
Mental Challenge
Mindset Makes The Difference
Jordan Mailata, who is obviously the greatest success story of the whole programme, spoke about the fact that it was year three that he was finally able to actually figure out the game, and he was able to compete, and then he got rewarded with that first big contract then. Now he is a Super Bowl champion.
It's the mental and the mindset that really separates you from the rest. Obviously, Louis is in a very privileged position in that he has lucrative contract offers in rugby available.
I definitely feel that if anyone is to make the transition, you have to respect it for what it is, and it's the fact that there's one league, there's only X number of positions available, and there are people who've been hungry for it since they were five years old.
That hunger is going to win out every time. He’s obviously not had the best of fortunes with having to learn his third playbook in a year and a half and was having to get his head around it.
So, perhaps that, and the fact that there’s a completely new coaching staff in the Jacksonville Jaguars and maybe some conversations he had with himself, and his team played a part, and he figured out that he was not going to be as much of a part of the team as he had hoped. So instead of just sitting, waiting for an opportunity that might not come, then you can’t blame him for his decision and for cutting his losses.
Motivation To “Make It” In The NFL
I think mine would be different to Louis’s. I never really felt accepted in rugby. I never felt I could be myself. I didn't feel valued as an athlete. So, I saw my physical traits and my abilities would be more celebrated in America than they ever were in rugby. And that was the case. I think I was probably a better American football player than I was a rugby player in terms of my true power. I'm a power athlete. The stop-start suited me. The ability to recover, the ability to express myself at 100% was far increased from changing sports.
My physical composition completely changed from going out there as well. I would say it brought the best out of me. For me, my brother had been to college, played basketball in America, my dad was a boxer, and so for me, I wanted to challenge myself at the highest level.
The reason why I played rugby was the community, the friendships and then also I like contact sport and so if I was born in America, I probably would have played American football. So, for me, actually, I felt like it was more of a homecoming for me going to America than what I'd experienced in rugby, where I was kind of an outsider, not in terms of my relationship with players on the team but in terms of being understood by coaches.
Rugby Regrets
I don't think I was ever really given a fair opportunity to be honest in rugby. So different motivations obviously. That also plays into the level of commitment that you put into the transition, what the opportunity would bring.
Unfortunately, injury got in the way of that. But I definitely saw that when I measured up the people physically, I was bigger. I knew that from the way that I approached the game, from a cerebral perspective and an academic perspective, that that was going to be to my advantage, being able to break down the game.
Rugby To NFL Challenge
Switching Positions
What you have to remember as well, Louis played running back, then moved to receiver, which are two completely different positions. With a running back, you have to be able to be in pass protection, so you've got to protect the quarterback. So, if you're talking about playing next to Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, if you can't pass protection, you won't be on the field on third down.
Louis struggled with pass protection, as most people do, because with blocking, you have to be physically willing to put your face into a linebacker who's got a run of steam running straight through the gap, trying to take your head off. That’s not for the faint-hearted.
Receiver is more of a finesse and skill position. But every team has a number one receiver, who they're probably paying $30 million, so that's a position that you're not going to get.
The second string is also probably high pedigree, a top-five round draft pick anyway, so you're not going to get that spot. So, you're looking at that kind of slot receiver spot or special teams for your first three years to be able to make the team.
You're competing for the bottom 10 spots on the roster as a bubble player. And then even then, if you get one opportunity, you have to shine. And then it's the trust element.
“I Had To Become An Encyclopedia”
To make coaches want to put you in, I had to basically become an encyclopedia of the offense, where if they ask you a single question, there can be no doubt that you know what you're doing.
Your position coach, the one who has to stand on the table in meetings and say “I trust this guy to be in the right place at the right time on the pitch has to trust you. And because of your accent, because of your inexperience playing, there's already so much against you. There is so much more to it, so many factors beyond, well, you’re a good athlete, so you’ll make it. And if you have to learn more than one playbook, that’s really tough.
My first off-season, when I was at Pittsburgh, when I had to have surgery. And so every single day, I watched four hours of tape, went home, and would be on my iPad watching more tape. I watched every single play for Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten, Jimmy Graham, and Travis Kelce for the past four seasons, that's 1000 plays, breaking down every play, as well as the Steelers' offense. What allowed me to make the jump from year one to two was my offense didn't change. So then when I went back in year two, then I did not have to think. You can't play slow in the NFL; you can't think.
It's got to be instinctive because you’ve got four seconds, and in those four seconds, several decisions have to be made. Do you go right or left? Is your release this way or that way? How do you execute the block?
Physique Key To NFL Crossover Success
I think it depends on the position. Skills position-wise wise is very tough.
My coach Mike Tomlin always said to me It's the big bodies that have a chance. There's a lot of fast people in the NFL, but you can't make someone be 6'8” or 360 lbs. like Jordan. You can’t teach size!
I was 275, you can't teach that. Being able to have that physical dominance and those genetic characteristics will mean you’re more included to succeed. In a skills position, the same as in golf, you're not going to find someone picking up a golf club at 30 who's going to beat someone who’s been playing since they were four.
Bet on Rugby Union Odds at BOYLE Sports
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly.
