There was a moment Friday morning in the Lions' first padded practice of camp when Ahmed Hassanein beat his block around the right edge in 11-on-11's but didn't finish on the ball. The defense made the stop all the same, but coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was immediately in Hassenein's ear.
"He was like, 'Go make the play! You won! Just go make the play!!'" said Hassanein.
The rookie defensive end nodded back, "like, 'OK. Got you. My bad.'"
Hassanein likes to howl on the field to get the defense going. But when Sheppard barks, Hassanein listens: "I love that he can get on me and can yell at me. I love that coaching and the competitiveness that he (brings)."
Through five practices in the NFL, the pass-rusher from Egypt who didn't start playing football until the age of 16 is absorbing the experience "like a sponge," he said. That includes emulating Aidan Hutchinson as much as possible, to the point of imitation. Hassanein has been studying Hutchinson's tape for a couple years. In college, "he was the guy that I was like, ‘OK, I want to steal his moves a little bit," said Hassanein. Now he's trying to mimic them on the same field.
In practice a couple days ago, Hassanein watched Hutchinson beat an offensive tackle by taking two quick steps to the outside and then hitting a swim move to the inside. Hassanein tried the same move on his next rep and found himself quickly in the backfield: Success. As Hassanein jogged back to the sideline, Hutchinson shouted at him, "Hey, bro, stop studying my tape!"
"Man, I’m just trying to be like you, bro," Hassanein replied.
Hutchinson told him later on the sideline, "That’s a good job, man."
"I was like, ‘Man, I just want to hug you,'" Hassanein said with a laugh. "I literally told him that. And he was like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘No, bro, I just look up to you so much. I just want to be like you.' He's an amazing dude. ... Just looking at that kind of guy and studying him and what he does, I just want to play with him. That’s all.”
Hassenein is undeniably raw. The Lions know it's going to take him time to find his footing in the NFL. When he attempted the swim move again in a later practice, Hassanein said he "kind of stopped myself" and lost his momentum, and Sheppard had to remind him to accelerate through the play. His instincts and technique have a ways to go.
He is also undeniably powerful, which is how he racked up 22 sacks over his last two seasons at Boise State and the fourth most QB pressures and third most QB hits in the country last season. With enough time, his tools should translate to the NFL, the pop and persistence at the very least.
"Ahmed has a chance to be a great player," said Hutchinson.
His motor has stood out so far in camp. On every play, Hassanein's aim is to "run through somebody's face," he said. Sounds like a Lion. Not surprisingly, he draws further inspiration here from Hutchinson, who "plays free and plays fast. That’s what I want to do."
"I want to be dominant. I want to be the hammer. Just that mentality. It’s you versus the guy in front of you. You either do your job to win or be dominated. If you play with that mentality 100% of the time, you’re going to be the hammer. You’re not going to be the nail."