San Francisco 49ers icon Roger Craig: Jarryd Hayne should ‘check my moves on Youtube’ to gain more playing time as running back

San Francisco 49ers rookie Jarryd Hayne may have completed his transition from rugby league to American football after making the team’s 53-man roster, but the journey of the “Hayne Plane” has only begun as the NFL season approaches its third week.

In his second NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, reality hit Hayne hard, reminding him of how inexperience he still is in playing American football despite his impressive stint in the 49ers’ preseason and season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Hayne only had limited playing time and very minimal output, which led to the 49ers icon Roger Craig giving the Australian sensation some advices on how to gain more minutes on the yard.

Craig, a three-time Super Bowl winner with San Francisco, wrote an open letter to Hayne, saying that the Aussie could get more minutes as running back when the team takes on the Arizona Cardinals in Phoenix on Monday, with Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush, and Bruce Ellington hurt heading into the match.

Craig admitted Hayne still needs to study the playbooks and talk to his running back coach to allow him opportunities in getting more plays for the 49ers. But the former 49ers running back’s ultimate advice is for Hayne to consider checking his “moves on Youtube.”

“He needs to study and this is a great week to do that,” Craig wrote, reports Fox Sports. “When the team has the day off, he should call his running back coach, Tom Rathman, and ask him to run through the playbook with him.”

However, Hayne might actually be left out on the 49ers’ third game of the season. According to Triple MMM, Ellington, one of Hayne’s punt return job rival, is expected to play against the Cardinals after being sidelined with an ankle injury, which kept him out of San Francisco’s 43-18 loss against the Steelers.

There is a possibility Hayne will not be included in the 49er’s 46-man come game time, with Mike Davis and DeAndrew White getting more minutes, and Hyde and Bush expecting to come out of the injured players list. But special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey insisted he would make use of whoever is available for punt and kick returns.

"With these young players, there's a maturation process they have to go through," McGaughey said. "They have to touch that hot stove and bump their head on the concrete sometimes and realise it is hard."

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