Carlin Isles, the fastest man in American rugby, has turned down a shot at NFL stardom and reportedly signed for Glasgow Warriors.
Isles, 24, signed a practice contract with the Detroit Lions on December 26, it has emerged overnight that he will leave Michigan to try and hold down a place at Scotstoun Stadium.
Having lit up the international Sevens scene with his blistering pace, he was an unsurprising target for Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who gave kicker and viral sensantion Havard Rugland a preseason tryout on the back of his YouTube exploits. Schwartz was impressed enough by Isles' wheels to snap him up before he could complete planned tryouts with Indianapolis and the New York Giants.
Having said that he has probably "played (his) last game of rugby", he was granted a futures contract with Detroit on January 10. However, on February 6 he made a further statement, this time claiming that he was returning to rugby because it had been a "blessing" to him. "I think I can help it grow a lot, man," he said. "From what I've heard, I've already helped it grow and I think I can make it grow even more popular than it is now. For me, that's a big thing and it makes me happy that I can do that and I want to make it grow even more."
Just 5' 8" (1.73m) and 74kg, Isles may have been overlooked by the Lions for a lack of physical presence, but his stature has been no barrier to his rugby career, because he can cover 40m in 4.22 seconds, and 100m in 10.13. His rugby experience is limited but with pace like that any technical deficiencies could be offset by the fact that he is fucking lightning.
