I'm very excited to start this new series with Detroit Lions rookie Ahmed Hassanein. What we'll be doing is getting a weekly look at what it's like to be a Lions rookie. We'll talk about camp, life, how things are going, and more. Today, we start with the balancing act of training camp and outside life. 

The Lions took Hassanien within the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and it was a very memorable night for Lions fans. They got to see Hassanien on the phone with Lions head coach Dan Campbell, talking about how he would die for him and how he just wants Campbell to believe in him. We'll talk more about that a little later.

That wasn't the only big thing to happen that night, though. Hassanein also proposed to his girlfriend. 

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The couple chose not to go through a long planning process and got married this summer. Right before Hassanine was due to report to camp. 

"It's insane right now. It's kind of like an unreal feeling, because literally, I got married last Saturday. Had to drive back. I got married two hours away from Boise. I had to drive back to Boise, two hours, and fly back Monday, come here Tuesday. So, no fly Monday, arrive Monday, and then just one day honeymoon. So it's crazy." 

That's a quick turnaround for sure, but there's so much more than that. Something that we don't really think of from the outside is that these players also have to move their entire lives to a city that they've likely never been to. So far, Hassanein says it's an amazing city and that so many fans have approached him and given him words of encouragement. 

In terms of being at camp and getting things going, Hassanein talked about how crazy it is to actually be living this out right now. 

"Things are going great. I mean, all glory to God, all glory to Jesus. I'm so grateful to be here, to be in an NFL football facility. It's kind of a crazy feeling. It was like it's insane and I'm just so grateful, and I just gotta take it one day at a time." 

When we talked, it was the first day of training camp, and I really wanted to know what that meant to him and what he was looking to do on that first day. 

"I feel today was getting back into football, you know, making several couple plays, knocking the rust off a little bit, and just getting back into it because you can work all you want, but you have to be in football shape. And the only way to get in football shape is by playing football. So I'm just out there, making plays and having fun and yelling, and I'm just encouraging my teammates. I'm just having fun, man." 

Now onto the big thing. Earning the belief of Dan Campbell. We saw how important that was to Hassainen on draft night. He wants to know that someone believes in him. After the draft, rookie minicamp, and OTAs, I wondered where Hassanien believed that Campbell's belief in him was. 

"I'm still working. The pads haven't come on yet. Trust, I truly believe it comes with time. I can't just look at you and say, 'I trust you' because I've seen your tape or seen someone talk about you. That'll help, but you have to see it live right now, and you have to connect on a personal level until, like, 'hey, what you did today, that was a good job. I trust you now.' This is what trust comes from. By action, not just by words… the more you believe in me, the harder I'm gonna play for you."

Hassanein talked about how he plans to gain the trust of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, defensive assistant Caleb Collins, and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, and how that is going to ultimately help him gain that belief from Campbell. We'll see how things are going with that in part two of this series.

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