Jarryd Hayne practicing with 49ers scout team

Coach Jim Tomsula and special-teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey spent the earlier part of Thursday suggesting that Hayne might not be one of the 49ers’ 46 active players for the opener Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.

AllNFL teams thrive on deception, and that’s what all of Thursday’s talkcould be.Rather than announce who their return specialist will be, Tomsula and McGaughey called into question whether Hayne should suit up at all.

According to the National Football Post, Hayne ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash, equivalent to the time of San Diego Charger rookie running back Melvin Gordon.

“I don’t want to be the guy downplaying his accomplishments or the excitement for the country”, Tomsula told reporters.

SF 49ers head coach Tomsula could have left Jarryd Hayne off one of the return specialist position lists like Bruce Ellington and DeAndrew White, but instead views the Australian running back as too much of a weapon.

Only Hayne and 49ers veteran Reggie Bush are named in more than two spots in the 49ers depth chart and that versatility will make Hayne a strong chance to play.

While Tomsula insists he would have no hesitation, he said Hayne’s position in the team wouldn’t exclusively lie in his ability to play on punt return.

[MAIOCCO: 49ers’ Tomsula tempers hype, but confident Hayne will develop].

“Special teams, okay you can catch a punt but can you do other things?”

McGaughey went on to describe Hayne as a “young player that needs to mature a little bit as far as just getting experience”. So, we’ve got to kind of keep everything in perspective and understand the preseason is the preseason and right now is right now. This is real bullets…

Whether Hayne is on the 46-man squad for the Vikings will likely only be known 90 minutes before Monday’s game.

“And that first year for all rookie players is, that’s the line that you balance there”. Stay on point. We’ve got to stay on that road. “But if you look at who led our team in punt returns in the preseason, it wasn’t Jarryd Hayne; it was DeAndrew White”. With the schematic we re installing, how are you practicing within that scheme, the things we re doing this week, do they fit your skillset? They delayed his entry into group drills, the place he ultimately confirmed his prowess as a receiving menace on swing routes and display passes. “When to use them”.

So, did Hayne help or hurt his cause when he made that theatrical, over-the-shoulder catch on a punt return against the Dallas Cowboys on September 23?