Ahmed Hassanein got to the quarterback in his first game of organized football, but there was one slight problem.“He grabbed the face mask of the quarterback and slugged him to the ground,” said Mitch Olson, Hassanein’s head coach at Loara High School in Anaheim, Calif. “He thought he could do that.”
Hassanenin, an edge rusher from Boise State and the Detroit Lions’ sixth-round pick this past Saturday, has come a long way since moving to the United States at 16 and beginning his football journey as a sophomore defensive tackle in Southern California.
Back then, he was oblivious to the rules of the game that have just earned him a new life in Detroit. He spoke very little English, referring to whipped cream as “Santa” because his introduction to the dessert topping was Christmas-themed. He would ask his high school coach, “Are you sad to me?” whenever he made a mistake on the field.
“I didn’t know anything (about football),” Hassanein said Saturday. “I only knew people were running and hitting each other.”
Despite not knowing the basic rules of the sport, Hassanein was All-League and named defensive lineman of the year as a sophomore. In the short term, Hassanein has a significant climb ahead of him if he’s to make an impact for the Lions. But at this point, all he knows is the climb. He did it at Loara, he did it at Boise State, and he’s intent on doing it for Detroit’s Super Bowl contenders.
“I never stop. I am always going. I am always willing to learn. I never settle. When you teach me something, I’ll go 100 miles per hour every snap, every play. I will never settle,” Hassanein said. “That’s just who I am. I am ready to die on the football field because (of who) believes in me.”
In the long term, it’s impossible to ignore the intrigue that comes with that person winding up in this place at this exact point in time. Cory Besch, Hassanein’s half-brother who facilitated his journey to America and helped kickstart his football career, had Detroit circled as the top destination for his brother to land in the draft.
“I know about the Detroit Lions and I especially know about (head coach) Dan Campbell and the culture that he’s built over the last few years, so I was hoping and praying that it would be Detroit, because there’s not a better fit in the NFL for him, and the culture around the team and the community,” Besch told The Detroit News.
“It was literally what I was praying for. I was telling him all weekend, ‘It’s gonna be the Lions, it’s gonna be the Lions,’ kind of out of hope, but I was really thinking that was really a good fit.”
Destined to play
It wasn’t the moment itself that made Olson cry “like a baby” when the Lions selected Hassanein with the 196th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. It was everything that built to the moment being possible in the first place. His coach at Boise State had similar feelings.
“I think a lot of times in life, people want those mountaintop experiences without climbing the mountain,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson said. “Ahmed is a guy that has earned every right to be a draft pick, to go have an impact in the NFL, so seeing that moment for him, I was just so, so proud of him.”
Hassanein moved from Orange County to Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 6 and returned stateside 10 years later. Between moves, he became the top-ranked Egyptian CrossFit athlete for his age group, but was living in an environment that he needed to “get out” of, according to Besch. Due to Hassanein’s American citizenship, the family was prepared to send him to military school in Georgia.
Years prior, the wheels that would instead bring him to the Motor City began turning.
When Hassanein and the boys’ father moved back to Cairo, Besch stayed in California with his mother. Besch carved out his own football career, earning a scholarship to play receiver at Azusa Pacific University, an NAIA school. He later returned to coach under Olson at Loara, his alma mater. While taking reps as scout-team quarterback, Besch impressed Olson, who got him an opportunity to play semi-professionally in Austria for the Schwaz Hammers.
While Besch thrived in his new life, Hassanein started to struggle. His father spent time in jail while his mother struggled with substance abuse. Besch’s stint with the Schwaz Hammers proved to be perfect timing. Besch was invited to Egypt by his sister, Gigi Ibrahim — an Egyptian journalist who was heavily involved in covering the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine — and before the trip was over, Besch had made plans to bring Hassanein with him back to California.
“If I (don’t) get my own little American football dream to come true, then I definitely am not on that side of the planet, my sister doesn’t have the awareness to invite me to Egypt, to (me) then find out what’s going on in the situation,” Besch said. “I really never even planned to offer Ahmed to come live with me. It was a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment thing.
“If this is what God is putting on my heart, then who am I to say no? I’ve already been dedicating my life and felt like my purpose was to be a high school football coach and mentor young men, so why would I not provide that role for my own brother?”
Besch’s newfound role as coach, father figure, mentor, legal guardian and brother was difficult to navigate at times. Tips for rushing the passer were sandwiched between requests for Hassanein to pick up his dishes and do his laundry. He guided him through perpetual culture shock. In addition, Hassanein and Besch had to square with the fact that they had not previously been in each other’s lives.
Due to the language barrier and time difference, Hassanein and Besch barely spoke outside of one-off messages via Facebook. Besch said it “took a while to convince him” that he “wanted to help support him and guide him as his brother” without ulterior motives.
“There were times he would ask me, with tears in his eyes, ‘Why didn’t you talk to me, bro? Why weren’t we close? What was going on?’” Besch said. “And to reconcile that relationship and to constantly reassure him about how much I love him … but over the years, that relationship has blossomed into what it is today.”
Hassanein was an instant hit in the Loara locker room. For as little as he knew about the game and the English language upon arrival, he eradicated those differences fairly quickly. Olson said it only took three months until “you really couldn’t tell” he had just learned the English language.
“It really was kind of bizarre,” Olson said. “You thought there was gonna be this big language barrier, and in the very beginning there was … but seriously, after three months, it was not much. The hardest part was him learning the ins and outs of football.”
At Boise State, his knowledge of the game became one of his biggest assets.
A race against time
Most people who grow up loving football have NFL dreams at one time or another. Hassanein was late to the party, but unlike others, his size, effort and discipline gave him a legitimate chance. Besch recognized his brother’s ability and pushed him daily.
At one point, when he thought Hassanein’s discipline might be slipping a little bit, Besch gave him a “homework assignment.” Hassanein had to write down, from morning to night, everything he thought a Division I football player does on a daily basis.
“I told him, ‘Now compare your actions, what you’re doing with your decisions to what you wrote down.’ It was like an ‘aha’ moment of realization,” Besch said. “From that moment, I saw a different player. I saw a different person.”
He had to be. Hassanein was in a race against time. His talent gave him a chance to play Division I, but without much hype behind him and a senior season derailed by the COVID pandemic, he struggled to get his name out there.
“We were questioning whether he was even gonna get a senior season,” Besch said. His outlook changed over a few hours in Corona, Calif., where a handful of scouts were in attendance for a regional camp.
“I walk in with this kid who looks like a grown-ass man, and they ask, ‘What’s his name, where’s he from?’ I said, ‘Ahmed Hassanein, Loara High School.’ They say, ‘What and where?’” Besch said. “No one’s ever heard of any of ‘em.
“I said, ‘Put it this way. He’s from Egypt. He’s only been playing two years. He’s First Team All-Conference, First Team All-League, and nobody knows who he is. The second that came outta my mouth, a scout who’s sitting in the background … his ears perk up. … He says, ‘That’ll change after today.’”
Hassanein held his own against prospects from California powerhouses like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. He started garnering interest from some Division II schools, but got on Boise State’s radar after Danielson, then Boise State’s defensive line coach, started seeing videos of him doing pass-rush moves in the garage. As it turned out, Danielson and Besch played together at Azusa Pacific; when Danielson reached out to Hassanein, he had no idea the two were related.
Due to COVID restrictions, Hassanein committed to Boise State without ever meeting the coaches in person. Danielson was a bit worried that his 6-foot-3 edge signing was too good to be true.
“Mind you, Cory’s probably 5-(foot)-8 … and when (Hassanein) popped out the car, he looked like a Greek God,” Danielson said. “We’re like, ‘Yep, we got our guy.’”
But that was just the start of his prolific Broncos career, which included a run to the College Football Playoff last winter. While Hassanein’s time in high school was centered on learning the fundamentals of the game and American football, his coaches at Boise State taught him “everything about becoming a great pass rusher and a D-I athlete,” Hassanein said.
He achieved the rare feat of appearing in games as a true freshman and evolved into a true three-down edge defender who was named a captain as a senior with two First Team All-Mountain West Conference nods. After witnessing it firsthand, Danielson believes he can become a contributor in Detroit faster than most are expecting.
“We’ve had a lot of NFL edge rushers out of Boise State … and he’s the best we’ve ever had in my time that can play downs one, two and three. I tell guys, ‘Just watch the tape,’” Danielson said. “He is the most violent at the point of attack on first and second down that I’ve ever been around. … You better get your mind right when you’re trying to block Ahmed.”
In addition to all the intangibles, Hassanein also happened to have elite production at Boise State, finishing with 22 sacks and 33 tackles for loss over the last two seasons while finishing tied for fourth in pressures (58) among FBS defenders in 2024.
Danielson partially credited Hassanein’s football IQ for his rapid development and thinks it’ll help him quickly see the field at the next level.
“He’s a relentless learner. He studies — like, he can listen and learn. Some guys can’t. I don’t care if they played football their whole life … listening and learning is a hard trait nowadays because it’s such an attention span deal with the phones,” Danielson said. “Ahmed will focus and listen and learn. He is locked in when you speak to him.”
Ambassador to the game
Entering Day 3 of the draft, Besch and Ibrahim both thought Detroit was the optimal landing spot for their little brother — but for very different reasons. While Besch wanted him to continue his career in an environment that valued a relentless work ethic and selflessness, Ibrahim pointed out that Metro Detroit has the largest Arab-American population in the country.
Hassanein’s demeanor has already resonated with a no-nonsense, go-to-work type of town. His draft call from the Lions went mega-viral after Hassanein told Campbell that he would die for him, and he later echoed those feelings in a post-draft press conference with local media. But his heritage has the chance to inspire thousands, if not millions, of people.
“The Arabic culture is a community,” Besch said. “You don’t do it for yourself. You do it for your family. You do it for those who love you and care about you, those who have believed in and supported you.”
Besch admits he didn’t know much about the Arab-American population in Detroit until Ibrahim told him, but he always believed his brother would serve “as an ambassador to the sport in countries in the Middle East.” He’s already made history as the first Egyptian player to play FBS, and in a few short months, will own that same distinction in the NFL.
“I didn’t really realize that it was gonna start here in our own country, our own backyard,” Besch said.
Hassanein (6-foot-3, 267 pounds) is not a perfect prospect — hence, his sixth-round status — but several factors suggest he can hit his ceiling and become a player in this league, and much like at his previous stops, he shouldn’t find it tough to become well-liked among teammates. Olson said Hassanein would cry after every season, “because he had to leave his buddies.” If nothing else, his love of fishing should make him fast friends with All-Pro center Frank Ragnow.
“He’s one of the most grateful people I’ve ever been around. I mean, the first time he got a protein shake from our nutritionist, it was like we gave him a million dollars,” Danielson said. “He’s never changed. … He’s an elite human being.”
Hassanein’s dream is only half-finished. Being drafted is the first step, of course, but he wants to become a major contributor in the NFL for himself and everybody who believed.
“I haven’t even reached anything in my top ceiling. I’m just ready to grow, ready to learn, and ready to help the team whatever they need because they believe in me,” Hassanein said. “Whoever believes in me, that means the world to me, especially Dan Campbell. I would die for that guy. I would run through a wall for him like I ran through a wall for (Danielson).”
Regardless of how much he sees the field early on, don’t be surprised to see Hassanein jerseys pop up around Ford Field this fall.
“The Detroit fan base will absolutely fall in love with Ahmed Hassenein. Period, point blank, end of story,” Danielson said. “He will be an absolute fan favorite because of how hard he plays, how much he’s gonna love the team, love the fans.
