By Cam Inman in Santa Clara/Contra Costa Times (TNS)

Three weeks into 49ers training camp, and 10 distant months since leaving Australian rugby-league stardom, Jarryd Hayne has gained a sense of belonging among his NFL peers.
Anyone who saw his debut in his side's exhibition opener might agree.
But even before Hayne broke out with a 53-yard run and opened more eyes later as a return specialist, he already was emerging as the 49ers' feel-good story in this drama-filled year.
"I'm thrilled and excited and pumped for him," Ronnie Lott said from the Pro Football Hall of Fame festivities earlier this month. "We've seen guys who have never played certain positions make it. He has a shot."
Hayne is relishing his attempt to make it on the 49ers. America loves an underdog, and 49ers teammates are embracing this one from Australia, who they've bonded with since his April arrival.
"That's probably the best thing. Everyone's always around each other," Hayne said. "We're playing FIFA (video game), we're in meetings, or we're doing something else.
"That's been great, to be able to muck around with the lads and not get that homesickness."
Indeed, Hayne isn't staying awake in the middle of the night phoning home to Sydney, according to an inside source: Carlos Hyde, Hayne's roommate at the team hotel.
Hyde was among the first to congratulate Hayne in Houston after his big run against the Texans, all of which sparked a bigger celebration in Australia, where Hayne's celebrity status is compared to LeBron James' in America.
"It's a huge story back home," said the Daily Telegraph's Nick Walshaw, who flew into San Jose on Wednesday night and is among the 20 Australian media credentialed for Sunday's exhibition against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium.
"Everyone would know of him," Walshaw said of Hayne's star status in Australia. "He is the biggest name and our best Australian athlete."
That's impressive, considering the Warriors' Andrew Bogut and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Matthew Dellavedova just met in the NBA Finals, and fellow Australian Jason Day just won the PGA Championship. The NFL does include other Australian players, including Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Jesse Williams, but none tout Hayne's stature.
Australia media reacted to Hayne's debut with stories about NFL scouts descending on Australia and how the 49ers will play an exhibition game there. Both reports seem like hyperbole and premature. One 49ers official said that, although Australia may be a possible preseason site, the logistics of an overseas game have yet to enter the NFL channels, adding that the 49ers aren't keen on forfeiting a home game at $1.3 billion Levi's Stadium.
Hayne also downplayed being a possible pioneer for rugby-league players hoping to join the NFL, stating: "It takes a lot more than seeing someone on TV. You've got to want to do it. None have seriously wanted the change."
Hayne stunned his countrymen last fall when he announced he was heading for the NFL and leaving the Parramatta Eels, who are 8-13 without him and in 13th place.
"Initially there was talk it was a ploy to get out of his Parramatta contract to sign with the Sydney Roosters," Walshaw said. "Some thought he'd just go over (to America), run around awhile and be back in March."
Hayne is running, all right, just as impressively as in New South Wales' upset last year in Australia's fabled Origin series.
"He has great lateral quickness, and that's another characteristic of a great open-field runner," 49ers special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. "If you look at all them, they all have that characteristic: Donte Hall, Devin Hester, Darren Sproles. They have great lateral quickness, and Jarryd has that."
McGaughey also lauded Hayne for being "fearless" as a return specialist, which is where Hayne must shine to make the roster.
"I'm far away from being a crisp running back," Hayne said. "Returning punts and kickoffs is what I'm most natural at."
His chances of making the final cut, however minimal they were in March, are more realistic, especially in that he might not clear waivers if the 49ers want him to return as a practice-squad member.
McGaughey, echoing coach Jim Tomsula's postgame words last weekend, also cautioned about overhyping Hayne. "He has a lot of natural ability, but you've got to be realistic, too," McGaughey said. "It's the first preseason game. So it's not like we're playing Week 8 and going down the stretch. He's got a long way to go."