All roads lead to March 20 for Louis Rees-Zammit, the crucial date at the end of his ten-week stint in the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, where the Welsh wing will conduct a series of drills for the NFL team scouts in the NFL. University of South Florida. It feels as big as any Test match he has played in for Wales, knowing full well that if he can impress and do enough, he will be handed a selection spot for next season as an international player – or better yet, possibly is drafted outright by a team during the NFL draft in early April – that leaves the door to his dream of playing in the NFL open. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
When Rees-Zammit played his last game for Gloucester against Edinburgh on January 13, he told Gloucester head coach George Skivington that in his mind this would be the last rugby match he would ever play. He will always be good enough to get back into rugby if he wants to, having been the youngest player to tour with the British and Irish Lions in 2021. But succeeding in the NFL? He can’t think there is a safety net.
“You can’t have any doubt about this. It is one of the toughest competitions in the world to get into. If you have any doubt in your mind, you will never make it,” says Rees-Zammit, speaking on this week’s episode of the Telegraph Rugby Podcast. “We have great coaches here who can really guide us to make it in the NFL and ultimately it’s up to us to learn on the field, in the classroom, to perform in front of the scouts.”
Rees-Zammit and the other international players in the IPP, including former Northampton Saints back Harry Mallinder who hopes to make the league as a punter, are nearing the end of their in-depth crash course. The work in the gym is intense – “It’s the dog days now, this is when it matters, when your body is tired and you have to push through it,” Rees-Zammit admits, but so is the time in the class, where you absorb concepts and plays and routes to play as a wide receiver. Or running back. Rees-Zammit doesn’t limit himself to one position, drawing inspiration from the recent emergence in the NFL of dual-threat players on offense, such as Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel with the San Francisco 49ers, who played in this year’s Super Bowl lost to Kansas City. Leaders.
How did Rees-Zammit end up here? Of course, the financial rewards of making it into the NFL are astronomical, but Rees-Zammit’s attempt to do what so many rugby players have failed in the past by becoming a full-time starter in the NFL – aside from Jordan Mailata, the outstanding Eagles offensive tackle – it all started with his father playing for Cardiff Tigers in the 1980s.
“It was quite tough then. Unless you had money and could fly to America and study there. He wasn’t able to do that, so to kind of continue his legacy, to have him say his son is in the NFL, would be a dream come true for me,” Rees-Zammit explained. “And not only that; Being a two-sport athlete is pretty special. There aren’t many and to do that would be great for myself. I want to inspire people at home to know that there is a path to get into the NFL. The IPP was incredible. This is something that anyone from Great Britain can go to, and then go to the NFL. It’s just about working hard now that I’m here to try to get that opportunity.”
His favorite player growing up was DeSean Jackson, the Philadelphia Eagles receiver whose most famous play was the “Miracle at the Meadowlands,” an astonishing punt return (after initially dropping the ball) to win the game in the final seconds against the New York Giants to win. . In Britain, Rees-Zammit was up until the early hours every Sunday night watching games, an existence that every NFL fan on these shores can relate to.
Rees-Zammit may not be considering a return to rugby, but he has watched Wales as much as he can in this Six Nations when not training and has been impressed with the way Cam Winnett has established himself at full-back. be thrown into his first campaign” – and insisting that a young group should be given time. We spoke about an hour before Wales kicked off against France.
“When I watch Wales play it still feels like I’m on the pitch,” he admits. “I’m still very much into rugby and keeping up to date with it, but I know the job I have here and I’m completely focused on it.
“I’m very proud of the boys and what they have done. They are a young team and it will take time to build the chemistry, but I think they have done a good job so far. They put in good performances at certain points in the match, but they only do that for 80 minutes. I have no doubt that the more games they play, they will get better and better.”
However, one comment about rugby stands out when it comes to celebrations, after Rees-Zammit was criticized during the World Cup for doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siu’ celebration after a try against Portugal.
“It was annoying because people thought I was being disrespectful – I was just celebrating. Almost every sport, except rugby, celebrates when they score. I did that and was criticized for it,” he explains. “It wasn’t great. I knew I wasn’t being disrespectful, I was just enjoying the game, the atmosphere and being at the Rugby World Cup which was absolutely massive to be at. In my head I was just enjoying it and then suddenly you get hit. It is what it is. I’m looking forward to change and I really want to go for it now.”
Rees-Zammit in the end zone celebrating a touchdown would be a colossal moment, not just for the IPP, but for everyone in Britain who dreams of breaking into the NFL. That experience of already playing 32 Tests for Wales in front of a large crowd should stand him in good stead ahead of one of the toughest moments of his life to date.
“I’m only 23, but I feel like I have a lot of experience. The Pro Day will definitely be nervous, don’t get me wrong, but I am completely focused on my ability to perform. I am so excited to see what the future brings.”