Valentine Holmes will compete against a British rugby union try-scoring speedster and a Brazilian judo champion for a place in the NFL’s 2019 International Player Pathway Program.
The NFL announced on Thursday the former Cronulla Sharks’ backline ace is one of seven international athletes who will enter the IMG Academy in Florida next month under the supervision of running back coach Earnest Byner, offensive line coach Paul Dunn, linebackers coach Pepper Johnson and wide receiver coach Larry Kirksey.
The 23-year-old Holmes, identified by the NFL as a potential running back, wide receiver and kick returner, is not guaranteed a place in the pathway program or a contract with an NFL team.
He will compete against English rugby winger Christian Wade, Brazilian judo champion Durval Neto and four others from Germany and Mexico who have backgrounds in American football.
After two months of intense training at IMG alongside NFL veterans and NFL Draft hopefuls Holmes and the six other contenders will showcase their talents to NFL club scouts in March.
If they impress they could be signed as a free agent by an NFL team or be selected for a 2019 NFL team practice squad position through the pathway program.
Former South Sydney Rabbitohs junior Jordan Mailata entered the program a year ago and was so impressive he was drafted by Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles.
One of the NFL’s eight divisions, to be chosen at random, will receive successful international players via the pathway program.
The NFL, in its press release, described Holmes as a “professional rugby player from Australia’s National Rugby League” who “represented Australia in the 2017 Rugby World Cup and scored five tries (touchdowns) in the quarterfinals” and a record six tries in the semi-finals.
Holmes needs to put on up to 10kg and increase his speed if he is to succeed in the NFL, according to Australia’s pioneer in the sport Colin Scotts.
Holmes has long harboured an ambition to play in the NFL, and both he and Jason Taumalolo trialled in front of a number of agents at the end of 2016 to see if they could cut it.
On that occasion Holmes’ 40-yard dash time was 4.6 seconds, while he weighed in at 90kg last year according to the Sharks.
That sprint time recorded is below the NFL’s average for his likely positions, which could present a significant hurdle in terms of speed to fit in as a wide receiver or explosiveness as a running back.
His weight is close to the usual for an NFL wide receiver, but about 7kg below the reported average running back size in 2016.
Another option could be for him to be used mainly in special teams as a punt returner.
“He’ll have to put on five to 10kg and increase speed,” Scotts, who was the first Australian to be drafted into the NFL, told Triple M’s Rush Hour. “But there’s no-one better at doing it than if he gets over there now and starts working with the best trainers in the world.
“There would be teams deadset interested. Possibly for special teams and then potentially work into a wide receiver position.”
