Jarryd Hayne: My only regret is not leaving rugby for NFL sooner
Jarryd Hayne's only regret about his one season in the NFL is that it was only one season.
Hayne, an Australian rugby star who signed with the San Francisco 49ers in March 2015 at age 27, announced his retirement from the NFL in May.
During his only campaign, Hayne bounced between the 49ers' main roster, practice squad, and the street, contributing mostly on special teams but also handling 17 rushing attempts and catching six passes for 79 total yards with three fumbles.
Hayne never looked entirely comfortable playing American football, and decided to leave the sport behind to play for Fiji's rugby sevens team in this summer's Olympic games.
Hayne told Faixfax Media in Australia that his only regret about his brief NFL career is he didn't come to the sport sooner.
"I just think with Chip's playbook, it's such an intense playbook that it would just take too much time," Hayne said of his struggles learning new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly's offense.
"Me not having that college history, I think a lot of the guys adapt to it a lot faster because they've had the college playbooks at thought. I was always behind the nine ball just learning in general. The guys playing in college were just that far ahead.
"That was the biggest thing, just knowing and wishing I had a couple of more years up my sleeve. If I had a couple more years up my sleeve 100 per cent I know what player I could have been. But time is of the essence and now I'm on to my next adventure and it's brought me to Fiji."
Hayne insisted he still has the desire to succeed in the NFL, but knows it isn't possible to pair with his other goals.
"It wasn't that I didn't want it anymore. I still wanted it," Hayne said.
"I would have loved to have played both. I would love to have played three sports or four sports. I would love to play league, union, sevens, NFL - I would have loved to play all four but you just can't do it.
"It was hard at the 49ers. With the new coaching staff and the guys that really put the study and that in - it all changed. It was tough, but I worked hard and made the 90-man squad. That meant I'll be back in preseason, but time isn't on my side. I had to make a decision and being in Fiji was it."