Just when Kourosh Hassibi was about to pull the trigger on the beginning of his college football career, the University of Chicago pulled the plug. Like many institutions, Chicago in June decided to put off its entire fall sports season until the first of the year.
A burgeoning defensive lineman, the 2020 San Marino High School graduate underwent an impressive transformation during his four-year career with the Titans and was looking forward to getting started at the next level.
“I’m really upset that the football season got postponed, because I put in a lot of work in the weight room and training the past few months in anticipation for a fall season,” Hassibi said last week. “But I understand the circumstances and the priority of student safety and health in this pandemic.”
Hassibi said the Midwest Conference, of which Chicago is a member, is considering an abbreviated season in the spring consisting only of league games. If they do, there is no doubt Hassibi will be ready to go.
“Kourosh loves football,” said Justin Mesa, SMHS’ head varsity football coach, who will be entering his second season when Titan athletics resume in a few months. “He is a physically dominant and competitive guy. For him to make a decision that he wants to play football at an excellent academic institution shows how much he truly loves the game.”
At 6 feet, 3 inches and a solid 220 pounds, Hassibi was an immovable object on the Titans’ defensive line. He began as a defensive end, but Mesa moved him to defensive tackle and the Maroons’ coaching staff has told Hassibi that all positions will be fair game when camp eventually opens.
“We moved him from defensive end to defensive tackle and that may have helped him,” said Mesa. “He battled some injuries and had to miss some practices but he always did whatever was necessary to get ready for games, which demonstrated his resilience. Kourosh’s willingness to change positions and do what the team needed him to do was also very impressive. He went up against a lot of double-team blocking schemes, and if you look at our statistics, we were very good against the run and Kourosh was one of the reasons why.”
Mesa, who before coming to SMHS was on the staff at the University of Wyoming, feels Hassibi has an excellent shot at getting quality playing time.
“He is going to continue to grow, and he has a motor,” said Mesa, referring to Hassibi’s energy and persistence. “When you look at those factors, it’s hard to imagine him not cracking the lineup.”
Twenty-five hundred miles away and two years removed, former head coach Mike Hobbie used the exact same word when describing the defensive stalwart.
“Kourosh has a high-revving motor,” said Hobbie during a telephone conversation. “He has tremendous desire to make the play as well as the size, speed and athleticism to be great. He’s also very smart, therefore he was a fast learner for the position.”
During his early days at SMHS, Hassibi was at least as enamored with basketball, but eventually settled on football. Hobbie explained his role in the decision.
“After his freshman year, Kourosh decided not to play football,” Hobbie explained. “He was going to concentrate on basketball because he was convinced that that was the best path for him to play at the next level. He happened to have my wife [Suzanne] as his biology teacher during third period his sophomore year. I would go see my wife every day during the break which preceded that class. I would always have a comment or two for Kourosh regarding his decision. Some of my comments were a little ribbing, some were sarcastic and others were serious. But there was no doubt in my mind he could be an excellent football player. Good enough to play at the next level.
“My wife would tell me to leave him alone, but I couldn’t. I sincerely believe this kid was not in the best place for himself. So you can say I continued to make little remarks like ‘So how much playing time did you get last night?’ of course referring to basketball or ‘I got a defensive end spot that has your name on it.’ However, no one was more surprised to see him show up the first day of practice than me.”
Hassibi had words of high praise for all of his coaches.
“I really appreciated Coach Mesa’s energy at practices and his positive attitude, even when things were rough,” Hassibi said. “I really do think he weathered the storm of a 1-5 preseason very well as we turned things around in league play and got into the playoffs. More personally, I appreciated how much he trusted me on the defensive line. Depending on the opponent and injury report, I would play at tackle, end or nose tackle, and sometimes all three in one game.”
Before Mesa came to town, Hassibi had three years in Hobbie’s system.
“Playing varsity football for Coach Hobbie taught me a lot,” he said. “Coach Hobbie never sugar-coated anything and was always honest with our team. When we lost in the CIF quarterfinals my junior year it was devastating, because we were one mistake too many from winning the game. At the end of the day it came down to being disciplined on the field, and Hobbie made sure we knew after the game what we lacked in that regard. I think playing for Coach Hobbie ingrained a lot of physical and mental toughness in me my junior year that carried on with me my senior year.”
One of the unsung heroes of the coaching staff is defensive line coach Ed “Rambo” Ramirez, a Marine, if the nickname left the description lacking.
“I really believe Coach Rambo had the biggest impact on me both on and off the field,” Hassibi explained. “He was like a father figure to me. He put in so much energy in coaching us it motivated me to return the favor on the field by giving it my all on every single snap.”
Hassibi plans on majoring in economics, with a minor or double major in computer science. Though football will be absent, Hassibi and his fellow freshmen are scheduled for in-person education when classes start in September. The son of Fara and Babak Hassibi, Kourosh has a twin sister, Kimia, who will be starting her college education at Caltech. He will head to the Windy City with a slew of memories.
“My favorite part of playing high school football is the brotherhood that is created over the months, starting from summer camp all the way to the very last game,” Hassibi said. “I’ve never experienced the same camaraderie in any other sport. I think that’s why I love football so much, honestly.”
