Christian Scotland-Williamson, a rugby player with a huge frame to go along with his splendidly British name, is heading to the United States.
Scotland-Williamson, a 24-year-old who is listed at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, has announced that he wants to play in the NFL and is quitting rugby to move to the United States and see if he has what it takes.
“This a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and one that I simply can’t turn down. I’m incredibly excited about testing myself and trying to get on the team roster at an NFL club,” Scotland-Williamson said.
There’s no word on which team will sign Scotland-Williamson, but it’s easy to see teams being interested. Even if he’s not ready to play pro football in 2018, he could take advantage of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, which allows players to spend a year on the practice squad without counting toward the player limit. The Falcons took advantage of that program this year when they signed rugby player Alex Gray.
So Scotland-Williamson is likely to at least find himself on some team’s practice squad. And maybe do a lot more than just that.
