Last week, we started our weekly series with Detroit Lions rookie Ahmed Hassanein, and we learned a little bit about the rookie balancing getting married and being at an NFL training camp for the first time in his life. This week we caught u with Hassanein about how things have been going and what he’s been learning from Penei Sewell.

“I’m looking for that matchup with him every time, because I want to see what he sees in other good edges.” Hassanein said. “What does he determine his move on? Where’s that step with? But his mentality, too. Do you prepare for certain players? Or do you have a certain mentality? I have a sort of mentality I go with. You know, it doesn’t matter who’s going in front of me, I’m going to be his dominant guy. So I try to pick his brain. What do you see from the tackle? Is his left foot up front? Is his right foot up front? What’s the difference? Right? And I just see the difference in his game and just apply it to mine.”

Sewell is definitely someone to learn from if you’re hoping to better understand what the tackle position’s mentality is. Hassanein also talked a lot about how he has been leaning on Aida Hutchinson and trying to sponge up as much of his game as he can. He’s even trying to do some of Hutchinson’s moves out there. To which Hutchinson jokingly shouted, “Hey, bro, stop studying my tape!” Hassanein essentially told Hutchinson he wants to be like him when he grows up.

“I was like, ‘Man, I just want to hug you,’” Hassanein said. “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.”

His play is starting to show up on the field, and that growth is going well, but what about the growth off the field? Hassanein and his wife Payson are relocating to Detroit, and that’s a big move for them. Hassanein credits his wife for heading up that project.

“She really did a road trip. Her and her mom just came over here in a U-Haul truck, drove all the way from Boise, you know. So you’re talking about strong women. I’m just so blessed for her to be here, and so blessed for me to just go home. Sometimes I’ve got to take my mind off of football a little bit. And I know she’s just my joy, you know. And that means a lot to me. Just to go home, and I can express my day. I can tell what’s up with my day. And I mean that’s what it’s all about. She’s there for me. She dropped everything, my wife dropped everything, dropped her job, dropped her family to just come follow me and support me, so that means a lot to me.”

Wives are great, aren’t they? I can understand what’s going on here because my wife just did the same thing for me when we relocated to Detroit so that I could do this job to the best of my ability. If you’re reading this article, Melissa, you’re my joy, too.

The other big thing for Hassanein is that it’s not lost on anyone that he has become a media darling in the last two weeks. Everyone wants to talk to him. I mean, the interview you’re reading right now came after I waited for him to get done with a TV interview. Part of it came from a big scrum on another day. Everyone wants to talk to this kid. I asked him how he was dealing with that.

“Man, Jesus is the celebrity, I am nobody. He gave me all this life, he gave me all this opportunity, just to give him all the praise and all the glory. Because truly, it’s not about me, you know. And I just want to play for a bigger purpose than me. I want to play for this team. I want to play for God. I want to play for my family. You know, at the end of the day, I’m nobody.”

When the kid says stuff like he wants to play for something bigger than himself, it becomes more apparent why the Lions drafted him. That’s exactly the kind of thing that fits right into this culture. It’s about the group and not about one guy. On Thursday, Hassanein will play in his first NFL game. Next week we’ll talk with him and get his impression on that, and maybe see how he feels about his Madden rating too.

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