49ers’ Jarryd Hayne: One of many Australians to play in NFL

Success

These Aussies were also able to make a roster and played in NFL regular season games.

Colin Scotts (1987)

Colin Scotts took the more traditional route to the NFL — he was drafted after playing for the University of Hawaii — but it was a stroke of luck he ended up playing for the “‘Bows,” as they were called at the time, to begin with.

Scotts began his athletic career in Rugby Union (yes, this is different from Rugby League, which Jarryd Hayne played; it is all explained here) for The Scots College in Sydney. He also played on the Australian Schoolboys Rugby team. His stroke of luck occurred when an assistant coach for Hawaii happened to notice him while watching a Rugby Union game and was able to convince him to come to Hawaii on a full football (American-style) scholarship.

Scotts, like Hayne, was not a punter. Instead he played tight end and defensive end. After a successful career as a ‘Bow, Colin Scotts was drafted in the third round by the then-St. Louis Cardinals. He played 7 games for the Cardinals that season before they departed for Pheonix, Arizona and eventually became today’s Arizona Cardinals.

After one season, Scotts was traded to the Houston Oilers, but never played another down in the NFL. Today he enjoys life as a “Healthy Active Ambassador” for the Australian government.

Darren Bennett (1994-2005)

Darren Bennett is easily the most successful Australian in the history of the NFL. After dealing with injury trouble in his career as an Australian Rules Football player, Bennett decided to try to make it in the NFL as a punter — conveniently, this position had a much lower risk of injury than he faced in Aussie Rules.

While on his honeymoon in California, Bennett convinced the San Diego Chargers to give him a tryout. He stuck.

Though he spent his first season on the practice squad, he quickly showed he had NFL talent as he led NFL Europe in net punting average in the spring of 1995. That fall he came to the real NFL, finishing second in the league in punting average and making the AFC Pro Bowl squad.

Bennett continued to surprise and impress, becoming the best punter in the 1990s, even making the All-Decade team.

Bennett also participated in the first “American Bowl,” an exhibition precursor to today’s International Series, in Sydney in 1999.

Perhaps Bennett’s biggest contribution to the NFL was his introduction of the “Aussie-Rules Kick” that is now near-ubiquitous in situations that require a pooch punt.

Bennett’s career came to a close after two brief stints with the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently a member of the San Diego Chargers Hall-of-Fame and 50th Anniversary Team.

Next: More Successful Aussies