By Ethan Ward

Sports Capital Journalism Program

INDIANAPOLIS — Just a few years ago, Ahmed Hassanein’s path to the National Football League Scouting Combine seemed extremely unlikely.

His knowledge of American football was as limited as his knowledge of the English language.

“All I knew was that you run and hit people,” Hassanein remembered.

Living in Egypt for 10 years before starting to play American football at the age of 16, Hassanein, an edge rusher from Boise State, has emerged as one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s draft class due to his versatility and an ability to adapt to challenging circumstances.

Hassanein moved to Cairo, Egypt, when he was six years old. His parents were separated at the time, so his mother stayed with his half-brother, Cory Besch, in America while Hassanein moved to Egypt with his father.

“My time in Egypt hasn’t really been easy,” Hassanein said. “My parents were separated, so sports was my outlet. I found family and culture in sports. I did CrossFit for four years, ranked No.1 in Egypt, and ranked top 10 in Africa. I did Jujitsu, I did ping-pong, and I played basketball.”

While Hassanein was busy with sports, Besch, who is 14 years older, was a high school football coach and English teacher at Loara High School in Anaheim, Calif. When Besch visited Hassanein in Egypt, he saw his half brother in a precarious situation and encouraged Hassanein to come play football for him in the States.

Hassanein had already planned to move to the United States to attend military school. Hassanein craved the discipline associated with the military experience, and he had grown to despise the man he had become due to a difficult relationship with his mother.

“She was a really abusive person, so that grew a lot of anger in me,” Hassanein said. “So I was angry all the time, and I used to get into a lot of fights in school, so I wanted to get out of Egypt.”

Hassanein was 16 when he moved to the United States. When he arrived, he knew he was going to have an uphill climb. He didn’t know any English did not know anything about the National Football League.

He had been watching a Los Angeles Rams game and saw the impact that Aaron Donald had on the field. Hassanein remembered asking Besch, “This guy is pretty good. What high school team is this?”

But his CrossFit background and the unique exercises that occur with that specific training made Hassanein much stronger than many of his teammates and many of the opponents.

“You’re getting involved with these movements in the weight room, and you’re doing gymnastics, and you’re learning how to use your body,” Hassanein said. “You’re learning how to do a ring muscle-up or a bar muscle-up, how to run, how to grab something in one place, and bring it somewhere else extremely fast, so since you’re doing so much with your body, it translates really easily to football.”

After unsuccessful attempts to play wide receiver and linebacker, Hassanein excelled as a defensive lineman because the concept was simple: See ball, get ball. The raw strength he had acquired from CrossFit training made him a natural pass rusher. That core strength is still evident in his game to this day.

Hassanein became a three-star prospect, according to 247 Sports. He received major-college offers that included UCLA, Colorado and Kansas. He ultimately chose Boise State because the defensive line coach for the Broncos played high school football with his half brother, and the relationship between the two was extremely strong.

The once-troubled adolescent with limited understanding of English grew to become honored as a second-team Academic All-America by College Sports Communicators in 2023. Hassanein was a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award last season, and was named to the Mountain West Conference first team in 2023 and 2024.

Hassanein has had to call upon versatility throughout his journey. He can play in multiple alignments along the defensive line and is extremely comfortable in that role. He played at 273 pounds last season for the Broncos, but he played at 300 pounds a year ago due to the fact that he started to play a little more inside. Hassanein’s humility has remained evident throughout the process.

“I’m extremely grateful to be standing with you here today, and being at the Combine,” Hassanein said. “Getting the opportunity to meet so many great athletes, so many great head coaches and scouts. And it’s awesome to see how many people are excited about me and about my story….

“I’m incredibly humble,” Hassanein said. “After learning how to play football over the past five years, and learning the English language in five years, my heart is filled with gratitude. And God willing I will get to be the first Egyptian ever drafted. And that is a huge honor to me and a huge honor to my country.”