Second-year defensive end Ahmed Hassanein said he teared up when he stopped to talk to Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes on the way off the practice field Monday, Aug. 3.
“I was like, ‘Man, you took a chance on me and you believed in me. And that’s all I need,'” Hassanein said Tuesday. “And his response was awesome. I loved what he said to me. And man it’s just, I’m just excited. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”
Hassanein said Holmes told him, “Ahmed, you’re proving me right by doing what you’re doing” and “the big end role is going to be good for you.”
A sixth-round pick out of Boise State last year, Hassanein has had a strong start to training camp while playing a new position on the Lions’ defensive line – as a backup big end after playing primarily the rush end spot while on practice squad last season – and is one of the big winners six practices into a long summer.
The Lions won’t set their initial 53-man roster until late August, and with three preseason games and 13 training camp practices still on the schedule, a lot can change before then.
But Hassanein popped in the Lions’ second straight padded practice Tuesday and has helped his chances of earning a roster spot as much as anyone this summer. Cornerback Nick Whiteside, offensive lineman Miles Frazier, tight end Jackson Meeks and running back Jacob Saylors are among other players trending up a week into camp, but none can quite match Hassanein’s enthusiasm on an every-down basis.
Hassanein’s energy even appears to have rubbed off on Lions coaches. He said Wednesday he likes to tell his coaches and teammates he loves them, something he picked up in college from Boise State coach Spencer Danielson. When Hassanein told Lions coach Dan Campbell he loved him last year, he said Campbell looked at him crazy and said, “Back at you.”
“This year, I told him I love him and he said, ‘I love you, too,'” Hassanein said. “I was telling my wife about that. ‘I just got an ‘I love you, too,’ from coach Dan Campbell.’ It’s just an amazing feeling, and I tell Shep [defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard] I love him all the time before every practice. I just want to spread that.”
More observations from Tuesday’s practice:
Alim McNeill dominating among veterans
While Hassanein and Whiteside are among the most impressive bubble players in camp, Alim McNeill is playing as well as anyone among the Lions’ more established veterans.
McNeill blew up two of the Lions’ first four plays in their first team period of practice Tuesday and pressured quarterback Jared Goff into a throw-away during a situational period at the end of practice.
I’ll have more on McNeill on the Lions’ off day Wednesday – they have a walk-through after two straight padded practices, but there’s no media access – but he told me he’s back down around 300 pounds, the weight he played at in his breakout year of 2023. He’s been a menace all camp and his resurgence is a good sign for the Lions’ much maligned defensive line.
Nick Whiteside getting snaps vs top wideouts
I watched receivers and defensive backs for the entire one-on-one period Tuesday and found it notable that the Lions are giving more reps to Whiteside against their top receivers.
Whiteside blanketed Tom Kennedy on his first rep of the period, then had two toss-up matchups with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Isaac TeSlaa. St. Brown made a leaping catch on his route, but Whiteside was in phase in coverage. Whiteside had a pass breakup against TeSlaa, who slipped on the play. Whiteside got a little handsy with TeSlaa, but I don’t think it was enough to warrant a pass interference penalty. Either way, he’s done some good things this camp.
In other notes from one-on-ones: Ennis Rakestraw punched a catch loose from Jameson Williams on their first matchup then got beat badly at the line of scrimmage on their second after he slipped at the line of scrimmage.
TeSlaa made a nice back-shoulder catch on Khalil Dorsey on a route where he didn’t have much separation, Rock Ya-Sin broke up a pass to St. Brown but probably deserved a pass interference penalty on the play, and Greg Dortch had two easy wins against Avonte Maddox and Christian Izien, though he only got one foot inbounds on his catch against Izien.
Levi Onwuzurike makes a splash
Levi Onwuzurike’s had a quiet camp so far but he destroyed Colby Sorsdal for a tackle for loss on Kye Robichaux during run period. Onwuzurike has taken mostly backup reps this summer and is a candidate for a job at defensive tackle and big end. I thought Scruggs had a nice pulling block in the period on Joe Bachie to give Jacob Saylors room to run.
In the Lions’ second 11-on-11 period of the day, Blake Miller left Aidan Hutchinson unblocked for a free run at Goff and appeared to be the culprit on a false start penalty. Backup QB Teddy Bridgewater hit Dominic Lovett for a bomb later in the period on a play where it was debatable if Tyler Lacy deserved a sack.
Both Scruggs and Christian Mahogany took first-team reps at left guard during 11-on-11 work throughout the day.
Goff connects with first team offense
Goff led the first-team offense to a touchdown in a seven-play, full-contact, play-it-as-it-lies drive late in practice. Isiah Pacheco opened the series with a short catch and rush up the middle, and after D.J. Reed broke up a pass to St. Brown – with Hutchinson and Roger McCreary providing pressure – Williams caught a long pass to give the offense first-and-10 around the 15. On first-and-goal from the 5 a few plays later, Goff threw a perfect TD pass to Sam LaPorta over a blitzing Chuck Clark for an easy score. Reed looked like he was late passing off a route and getting to the sideline on the play.
The second-team offense settled for a field goal on its drive, though Dortch appeared to convert a third-and-8 when coaches marked him just short of a first down.
Jake Bates made all seven of his field goal tries on the day, including kicks of 51 and 59 yards.
Drops hurt first team
The first-team offense wasn’t quite as crisp in situational work, starting from its own 24-yard line, down 30-27, with 34 seconds on the clock. Goff hit St. Brown for a first down to start the drive, then threw four straight incomplete passes (one on a throw-away). McNeill forced one incompletion with a pressure against the left guard, St. Brown wanted a pass interference penalty when he bumped into Clark on third-and-10, and Williams dropped a pass with Whiteside in coverage on fourth down that would have put the offense in field goal range.
The Lions played their dime defense on the drive, with Reed, Rakestraw, Ya-Sin, Clark, Maddox and Thomas Harper in the secondary.
Teddy Bridgewater drove the second-team offense into field-goal range in a similar situation, down 28-27 with 47 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, that started at the 35-yard line. Meeks caught two passes for first downs on the drive and
Bates capped the drive with a 41-yard field goal.
Quick hits
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions observations: Ahmed Hassanein spreads the love in training camp
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
