'Pioneer' Hayne hailed by 49ers great

San Francisco 49ers great Ronnie Lott has hailed Jarryd Hayne as a pioneer who will open the doors for more Australians to play in the NFL.

Lott, who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers during the 1980s, joined San Francisco executive Paraag Maranthe in heaping praise on the former NRL star.

Speaking ahead of Hayne's second season in American football, Maranthe hailed the code-hopper's will to succeed and said he expected vast improvement from the Aussie import in 2016/17.

"I think you'll see a jump from him,'' Maranthe said.

While Hayne had just 17 carries and eight punt returns as a 49ers rookie, Maranthe said his drive to make it in the NFL was why the 49ers decided to take a punt on him.

"The one thing that intrigued us the most about Jarryd Hayne was that will. It was that succeed-at-all-costs mentality that he had,'' said Marathe, now listed as the 49ers' chief strategy officer and executive vice president of football operations.

"That's what really attracted us to him. So when we brought him in, one of the big things was: Is he going to have enough time to acclimate?

"Is he going to have enough time to figure the game out? He improved week after week after week."

Lott said Hayne's bold move to ditch the NRL, where he was a star of the code, to try a foreign sport was brave and would open the doors for more Australians.

The 49ers have already added another Aussie to their roster by signing Sydney-born offensive lineman Blake Muir.

"Because of (Hayne), he's fostered now a whole new dynamic of letting people understand: You can do it. You can get it done,'' Lott said.

"And I think Australia will produce more and more football players."