Ahmed Hassanein to become Egypt's first NFL star after being drafted by Detroit Lions

Defensive end only took up the sport seven years ago having moved to the US from Cairo

Boise State defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine. AP

Ahmed Hassanein made history on Saturday as the first Egyptian ever chosen in the NFL draft.

The Boise State defensive end is now set to become the first man from his country to take to the field in the NFL after the Detroit Lions selected the 22-year-old in the sixth round with the 196th overall pick.

It caps a meteoric rise for Hassanein who was born in Orange County before moving to Cairo aged six. He returned to Southern California at 15 to live with his half-brother Cory Besch but was unable to speak English and had no knowledge of American football whatsoever.

“When I came to America, I’ll tell you this: Nobody believed in me," Hassanein said. “My brother was the only one who believed in me, and everybody told me that I’ll come back in two weeks. ‘You can’t even speak English’. And just look where I’m at now. I’m so grateful.”

The Lions hope Hassanein can develop and eventually fill their hole at edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson.

“I haven’t even reached anything on my top ceiling,” Hassanein added. “I’m just ready to grow, ready to learn and ready to help the team whatever they need, because they believed in me, and whoever believes in me, that means the world to me, especially [head coach] Dan Campbell. I mean, I’ll die for that guy. I’ll run through a wall.”

It is that trademark determination that has helped him move across the world, learn a new language and become a rising star of a ruthless and ultra-competitive sport.

Hassanein credits his brother and the coaches at Loara High School and Boise State for his transformation.

“Knowing his character, knowing his work ethic, knowing his journey, knowing his testimony, I’d be willing to bet everything I have on him,” his half-brother Besch told CNN.

“And I think any team that’s willing to invest in him is going to not just get a football player, but they’re going to get somebody who’s going to represent their team, their culture better than any other prospect in the draft. I will put that part of his skillset against anybody. The leadership, the passion, and the fact that he is an untapped, unrefined diamond that is still being discovered.”

Boise head coach Spencer Danielson says he’s the best edge rusher he has seen emerge from the Mountain West Conference in a long time.

Hassanein racked up 24 sacks as a Bronco and was a first-team all-conference player in the 2023 and 2024 seasons and was captain in his senior season.

“I don’t want people to get it twisted. There’s a phenomenal story about Ahmed, right? Everything we talked about, who he is as a person – Egypt to California to Boise,” Danielson told CNN on the eve of the draft. “I don’t want people to get it twisted: Ahmed’s one of the best football players in the nation.

“There are so many things about his life that just make it an amazing story. But, oh man, he’s going to get drafted because he’s going to have a monster impact on the field in the NFL. I just want that to be known for people – you’re not only just getting a great story, you’re getting a big-time football player.”

Besch, who helped his brother take his first steps in the game, estimates he has developed to about 70 per cent of his full potential as a football player.

“I have a unique perspective as a football coach and as his brother, and seeing where he’s at, I would say he’s 70 per cent of his potential,” Besch added.

“If you take that ability and that coachability, and relentless effort and motor and desire to grow and develop, and you give it to an NFL coach who actually wants to develop him … the sky’s the limit.”