The Kansas City Chiefs have carefully bolstered their offensive line this NFL draft by spending three out of their seven picks. One of these three prospects is a former Penn State tackle, Hunter Nourzad, who was selected 159th overall, poised for a significant journey ahead. Moreover, this is quite a big break for Nourzad, who kind of ‘fumbled’ during his first official presser while talking about his college journey.
During his first rookie minicamp press conference, Hunter Nourzad, 24, made it clear that he got into college for education rather than football. At a crucial juncture in his life, with two degrees — Mechanical Engineering from Cornell and then an MBA from Penn State — he had yet to find a job, a contrast to his academically successful friends.
And when questions about him and his friends pursuing different careers came up, Nourzad hesitated, stumbling over his words. He emphasized that all his friends from college have jobs, something he didn’t accomplish until recently. Nonetheless, he expressed his contentment in finally landing a full-time job, which he is looking forward to taking on with his head up high.
“All my friends had jobs, and I was still in college, so it was kind of weird because I still hadn’t gotten past that point,” Nourzad said. “So I feel really one of the biggest things I’m happy about is just having a job and being able to go to work every day.”
It’s worth mentioning that Hunter will be wearing the number 60 jersey in the NFL as opposed to the number 64 he wore in college, as a mark of respect to someone who introduced him to the game of football.
Hunter Nourzad Reveals Reason Behind Wearing Number 64
While the Chiefs have assigned Nourzad the number 60 on their roster, he wore the number 64 in college. When asked about his former number’s significance, Nourzad revealed it was the number his maternal grandfather wore during his time as an All-American athlete in college. He is someone who connected him to football, and, as an ode to him and his contribution to his life, he wore that specific number.
“It was my grandfather’s number,” the former Nittany Lions said. “That’s why I wore it. He was a junior college All-American and when he went to college. I was pretty close to him when I was younger. He made sure that football was important in my mom’s life and my mom made sure football was important in my life.”
Brett Veach and Andy Reid have done it again. They plucked another gem in the lower rounds, someone who would fit right into their culture. They have picked Tyreek Hill, Isiah Pacheco, L’Jarius Sneed, Jaylen Watson, etc. The Chiefs look determined to get their third consecutive Lombardy Trophy.
While they lost Donovan Smith and Nick Allegretti this year, Joe Thuney hasn’t been very reliable due to several injuries. In response, the club has brought in BYY OT Kingsley Suamataia, Hunter Nourzad, and OG CJ Hanson as replacements, as per the Chiefs Wire.
They have also brought in more weapons for Patrick Mahomes in Marquise Brown, Louis Rees Zammit, Xavier Worthy, Jared Wiley, and a few more. While Spagnuolo’s defense did wonders for the team, they are still planning to decrease their pressure by getting their offense back to where it was in 2022. Surely, there is another MVP season for Patrick on the cards.
