Valentine Holmes is sitting in a hallway inside the Jets’ training center, going over his path to the NFL when the former Australian Rugby League star gets tripped up by which division he now is in.

“We came to the Eastern … what conference is this?” Holmes asks.

He is reminded it is the AFC East.

“The AFC East, right,” Holmes says.

Learning the league’s divisions is just one small step in Holmes’ assimilation into NFL life. The 23-year-old left his life as a star fullback/winger for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to pursue his dream of making it in the NFL.

He is part of the league’s International Player Pathway Program, which helps foreign players enter the league. Holmes spent three months training at IMG Academy in Florida with other players from the program and current NFL players. In April, he was assigned to the Jets as the AFC East was chosen at random for each team to get one player from the program. He will remain on the roster until the end of training camp and is then eligible for a practice-squad exemption. The Jets would get an extra practice-squad spot, where he could spend the year and learn the game.

Holmes spent the spring going through OTAs and minicamps with the Jets. He is working mainly as a running back with a little time at wide receiver. He also is trying to find a role on special teams, possibly as a kick returner.

“Physically, it wasn’t bad,” Holmes said. “It was just more the installs and learning the plays and just being in meetings and trying to remember what we had to do with protections, runs, receiving routes and then special teams stuff, as well. There’s a lot of stuff to remember. There’s a lot of studying to do. Back home, I didn’t need to study. I kind of knew what I was doing.”

Back home, Holmes made big news when he decided to leave rugby for the NFL. He had started playing professionally at 17 and represented Australia in the World Cup. He was making the equivalent of $720,000. He would make $129,000 on the practice squad.

“He was a stud,” said Jets punter Lachlan Edwards, who is also from Australia. “There’s no other way to put it. Let’s hope he can make an impact over here.”

Holmes has a very slim chance of actually making the 53-man roster. He also has been slowed by some tightness in his back that has kept him out of some training camp practices.

There has been speculation in the Australian media that Holmes is just killing time until he can become a rugby league free agent next year, but Holmes says he truly wants to play in the NFL.

“Obviously, I am trying to make this a long-term thing,” Holmes said. “That’s why I came over and gave up what I had. Everyone knows how cutthroat this sport is. One slight mistake and you could be gone the next day. I’m just taking it day by day at the moment and not thinking about long-term stuff.”

At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Holmes has the size — and speed — to play running back. His best shot at making it, though, may be as a kick returner. As a fullback in rugby league, he needed similar skills as kick returners do.

Larry Kirksey, a longtime receivers coach in the NFL, worked with Holmes at IMG in the winter. He worked with Holmes as a slot receiver. Former NFL player Earnest Byner worked with him as a running back. Kirksey said he was impressed with Holmes’ hands and his ability to pick up things quickly.

“I think more than anything else is you’re going to see he has toughness and desire,” Kirksey said. “It’s a different game with pads and it’s a little more volatile but I think the footwork is very comparable to the game of football.”

Holmes says wearing pads and a helmet did take a while to get used to. Now, he feels acclimated. He also said he feels like “one of the boys” around his teammates and said he is picking things up from fellow running backs Le’Veon Bell, Ty Montgomery and Bilal Powell every day.

Holmes hopes to get some playing time next week when the preseason opens against the Giants and his goals for camp are simple.

“Just to stay on the field as long as I can,” Holmes said. “I want to play as many positions as I can on the field on special teams. I’m trying to get on the field as much as I can and show the coaches and everyone what I can do. That’s what I’m always thinking about at the moment.”