Ahmed Through The Years: A Final Homage And PODcast Addendum

Podcast Addendum

Last week, I collaborated with Pride of Detroit to write a “Five Questions” article about Ahmed’s fit with the Lions. This week, I went on the Pride of Detroit P-O-D-cast for POD Direct subscribers (fyi, they offer a week long free trial), to talk about the Lions picking Ahmed Hassanein in the 2025 NFL Draft. As part of the conversation, after telling a lot of stories about The Hassassin that left a lot of meat on the bone, I said I would actually just compile a collection of some deeper dive Ahmed content–through the eyes of a Boise State fan–that Detroit fans might appreciate. Something that goes past all the highlights, facts, and low-hanging fruit that everyone already knows at this point.

So, here goes:

KTVB Series: The Blueprint

At about the 19:30 mark, there’s an excellent segment with Ahmed going to get a haircut from former Boise State great (and NFL second round pick), Kamalei Correa. In it, Kamalei gives some tips and wisdom to the up and coming Boise State EDGE. It’s a fun moment of seeing Ahmed, in the peak of him coming into his own, interacting with one of his predecessors and picking his brain about having a greater leadership role and discussing his pro aspirations.

Mountain West Feature on Ahmed Pre 2023 Conference Championship

Prior to Boise State playing in the Mountain West Conference Championship in 2023, the Mountain West put together an excellent feature on him. In it, they talk about some of the stories I mentioned on the PODcast, such as all the languages that were in the defensive line room at the time (Arabic, Greek, German, Samoan, etc). However, they also cover some other things I completely forgot to mention, such as Ahmed getting recruited by his brother’s former college teammate, unbeknownst to either his brother or Coach Danielson.

Post Fiesta Bowl Presser

This press conference isn’t exclusively Ahmed, but he is heavily featured in it. And it gives a great indicator of how passionate of a person he is. It was moments after a dream season came crashing to a halt. In it, it’s clear that Ahmed cares deeply about his team, his coach, and his God. Those last two are particularly evident in one clip from the event that went viral.

Post Utah State Interview in 2023

I talked on the podcast about a time when Ahmed really stood out as a leader was after the Utah State game in 2023. He had 11 or 12 sacks already at that point, but Boise State was facing a situation where they had a .01% chance to even make it to the conference title game (they ended up not only making it but blowing out UNLV), and this interview with Ahmed really showcased his leadership, intensity, and loyalty. Those traits contributed to him leading the defense–and the team–to that eventual conference championship AND helping to get his defensive coordinator elevated from interim head coach to having the “interim” tag removed. This is that interview.

(Note: Apologies for the poor audio. Utah State stashed the Boise State post-game media session in a mini cafeteria by the stadium, next to some VERY loud refrigerators. But they served incredible ice cream at halftime and half my in-laws are Aggies. So…I can’t stay too mad at them)

Countdown Article Pre 2024

As mentioned on the PODcast, FKWG does a Countdown series every offseason, where we profile one jersey number on the roster, every day, from 99 to 0, before the first game. Here is the last one for Ahmed, prior to his senior season, where Hunter actually nailed the prediction for Ahmed’s 2024 Prospectus!

Rich Eisen Interview

This episode from the Rich Eisen show dropped before Ahmed was drafted. He just wanted to have him on because he loved the intensity of the kid that was barking back at the coaches running the drills at the combine, getting them both hyped. There a lot of fun tidbits in here and it’s yet another great showcase of Ahmed’s personality. It’s worth revisiting now that he is officially a part of the Detroit Lions.

Final Thoughts

I’m a new dad, so I will fully admit that when I was on the podcast, I was running more on caffeine and excitement to be talking football in May than actual, healthy, human sleep. As a result, my brain was responsible for some gaps in both things I meant to talk about and dots I didn’t connect from things that we did. So, I wanted to tie a bow on everything with a few quick hits

• I mentioned that I was pretty sure I recalled Ahmed rotating in on the interior for a bit before really making a splash at edge in 2023 and 2024. Turns out, I remembered correctly. Confirmed by @Nathan_26_ on X, of bronconationnews.com, and his access to sorcery, aka the PFF Premium Stats package. I learned that Ahmed played 40 of his 48 snaps in 2021 on the interior, as a rotational DT. He wasn’t a starter yet, and it’s a less splashy position, so it went less noticed, but my memory served me well. He definitely got some meaningful time as an interior player.
• I talked about Ahmed’s sack numbers decreasing from 12.5 (16.5 TFLs) in 2023 to 9.5 (15.5 TFLs) in 2024 due to a new defensive system that created more “non-traditional pressure”; a lot of it from DBs. However, I didn’t mention that the emergence of Jayden Virgin-Morgan on the opposite side was a big factor too. They had a friendly competition going and JVM racked up 10 sacks, but Ahmed was just as productive. The reality was that Boise State just got a lot of sacks in 2024. From everywhere. They were #1 in the country.
• When asked about Ahmed’s potential, I don’t think it’s just my rampant homerism showing when I said I think he could make it into the edge rotation in Detroit this season. I want to make it clear, though, that my prediction of an Anthony Zettel-esque 6-sack season being his floor, and 10+ sack years being very feasible is not something I expect to happen in 2025. That’s a caveated FUTURE prediction, for once he hits his stride as a pro. But I think he absolutely could eventually develop into that, with time and NFL coaching. He just has so much raw potential and power (34 reps of 225), combined with relentless determination. He’s probably not going to get taller, but he could get even stronger. He could also absolutely develop more pass rush moves. As Chris Petersen used to like to say, “It takes no talent to give great effort” and few people are going to give more effort than Ahmed Hassanein.

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In the comments, I hope some Lions fans stop by to say hi and mingle with our die-hards. Feel free to share any additional stories you recall from Ahmed’s time as a Bronco to share with our guests. In the meantime, as always…

Go Broncos!

(And Lions 😉)