EXCLUSIVE: 'It is so hard' - Gridiron crossover star issues reality check for NFL bound Wade
Sevens star Perry Baker, who moved from American Football to rugby union, has warned Christian Wade he faces one of sport’s toughest challenges to break into the National Football League.
Wade has quit Premiership club Wasps to try and forge a career in the NFL and while his switch has yet to be officially confirmed, RugbyPass has been assured the 27-year-old England and British and Irish Lions wing has turned his back on union.
Wade is third in the all-time Premiership try-scorers list with 82 tries and follows fellow rugby union players Alex Gray and Christian Scotland-Williamson who are also trying to crack American football via the NFL’s international player pathway programme.
Baker, the reigning World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, was signed as a wide receiver by the Philadelphia Eagles in July 2011, but he suffered a knee injury that cut short his NFL career. Baker then played two seasons for the Pittsburgh Power in the Arena Football League before switching to rugby union and setting the Sevens circuit alight.
The USA Sevens flyer believes moving from the NFL to rugby union is easier than making the journey Wade, 5ft 8ins and 185lbs, is about to start as he is joining a more complicated game with hundreds of college players also looking to break into the big time who Wade will have to eclipse to earn a lucrative NFL contract.
Baker said: “I think it is harder to go from rugby union to football than the other way around.
“The problem coming over to the NFL is the understanding of the league and the play-book. The speed of the game plus the knowledge of the play-book and reading a defensive set up are the things that could hinder him. Christian will be up against a lot of college players coming into the game next season along with guys who get cut from their current team and are looking for new contracts.
“Everyone believes they can make it but it is so hard to get that opportunity to join a 53 strong roster for one of the NFL teams. So, it would be a huge achievement just to make the practise team because they won’t know anything about him in America. There are a lot of hurdles to clear just to get a chance.
“The playbook is a huge mass of data and it is added to every week with new ideas to deal with the defence in the next game. There are so many plays in each game and you have to study them all the time and that is why team’s have so many meetings in the week – a ton of them. You are constantly writing in your notepad, studying all the moves. Not having been part of a pre-season is really tough for Christian and there will be a lot of catching up to be done.
“If you are an attacker playing wide then you are X in the play-book and if you are on the inside then you are Y. You have to know what each call for a receiver is because there may be a block to be made. It is so different man!”
Another skill Wade will have to develop is the ability to read a play while it is in motion to cater for unexpected pressure on the quarterback who then has to change the call on the run. Wade has already worked with a speed coach to develop his footwork on a recent holiday in America to try and bring him up to speed for this dramatic change of career which will involve running in a helmet and padding.
Baker added: “Timing is crucial and when a quarterback drops back five steps then you need to be at a certain point in your run. If the quarterback is having to scramble then you have to be prepared to react; if you are running a shallow route then you may have to go deep or visa versa, you come back to shorten the throw.
“In rugby there aren’t the kind of complicated calls you get in football with the quarterback calling “YZ22” and that means you have to pick up whoever is Y, Z and 22. If a quarterback sees something different on defence he can suddenly switch from a running play to a throw and it is up to you to know what your route will be. Rugby doesn’t have an audible in the middle of a play.
“He will have the skills of running with the ball and to beat a defender while in the NFL you also get guys blocking tacklers for you. Getting the game understanding is a problem because team don’t wait for you and that means you have to catch up very quickly. They may be just bringing Christian in to do the tests for the NFL.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments