Hayden Smith

Hayden Smith (born in April 10, 1985) is a former professional rugby union player turned professional American football tight end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL).

Early life
Hayden grew up in the town of Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia. He graduated from Blue Mountains Grammar School. Whilst training with basketball team Sydney Kings, Hayden won a scholarship to play and study in the United States. He went on to study Finance at the New York Institute of Technology. Hayden transferred to Metro State College in Denver, Colorado where he completed his degree and moved from basketball to rugby union.

Rugby union career
As an Australian, Smith was very aware of rugby union but didn't start playing the sport competitively until 2008. Within weeks of starting he played for the All-American Team and following his graduation, had started to play with the Denver Barbarians. Soon after joining the Barbarians, he was named 2008 Rugby All-American

Smith joined the professional English side Saracens FC in the 2008/09 season on an academy contract. He made his academy debut against Newcastle Falcons in the 2008/09 season. His performances for the academy team Saracens Storm quickly saw him elevated to the first team squad. Smith impressed to earn a first team contract for the following seasons in which he went on to play a total of 22 matches in both the Aviva Premiership and the Heineken Cup.

It was not just on the domestic stage that Smith impressed, he also was a regular with the USA Eagles, for which he qualified on residency grounds. He made his test debut on November 8, 2008 against Uruguay. Smith helped his country qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup during which he started all 4 group stage matches for the USA. It was at the World Cup where Smith played his last match for his country, on September 27, 2011 against Italy.

New York Jets
Smith was looking at the possibility of playing in the NFL and had a workout with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Jets signed Smith on April 3, 2012. He was waived on August 31, 2012. A day later, he was signed to the Jets' practice squad. On October 27, 2012, He was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad.