When Germany native Nouredin "Nouri" Nouili moved to Nebraska before his junior year of high school, it's hard to imagine he saw things playing out as they have.
The 6-foot-4, 287-pound Nouili played limited versions of organized football in his home country of Germany. His first-year of organized football came at Norris (Neb.) when he chose to move here as a foreign exchange student. His host family, the Hausmann's, immediately started to help him make the transition.
Nouili worked out extensively with local trainer Chris Slatt, who also trains multiple different NFL and professional athletes, including Nathan Gerry, Luke Gifford, Cethan Carter, Freedom Akinmoladun, Brandon Reilly and Josh Banderas, among others.
"The first time I trained him, I noticed how athletic he was and how light he was on his feet, and how quick he was," Slatt said. "On top of that, he had never lifted weights before. His shelf is so much higher than kids that are trained during high school because he never trained.
"He literally just played football on Saturdays in Germany and never lifted. Once he improves his upper body strength and lower body strength, he's going to be a really solid offensive lineman."
Nouili learned quickly, and he picked up the game extremely fast. After three to four good months of working out under Slatt, Nouili ran a 5.0-second 40-yard dash and jumped a 31.5-inch vertical last December. After the videos were posted on social media, the Division I schools began calling. North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Colorado State all offered.
In the end he chose to go to CSU, because of the connection he made with head coach Mike Bobo. This past week Bobo was fired, which played a factor in why he entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday.
By Tuesday, Nouili was on the phone with Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, and they worked out an agreement. Nouili will come to NU as a walk-on, and there's a very good chance within a year he'll be on scholarship.
“I talked to Coach Frost on Tuesday night, and texted with him over the week,” Nouili said. “He told me that, as of right now, it’s just because of the incoming freshmen numbers why I can’t have a scholarship with the number they can give away. I could get one as soon as fall starts, it depends on if I get a waiver or not. The deal kind of is the minute I get time on the field I’ll get a scholarship, hopefully.”
As a true freshman at Colorado State, Nouili logged seven starts for the Rams. He took 417 snaps according to PFF, allowing just two sacks, one quarterback hit and five hurries on 261 pass block plays.
He was sidelined for one game with a concussion and missed a couple of other games recovering from a partially torn meniscus.
With Bobo leaving Fort Collins, Nouili is optimistic he can get a waiver to play immediately at NU. If not, he can take a redshirt and still have three years left to play.
“I will try and I hope that I can get a waiver,” Nouili said. “It is a pretty big deal in my opinion. I left because he left. Like I said, the homesickness plays a role in it as well. I hope, it works, if not, I’ll just redshirt. I hope it works, though, because I want to contribute as quickly as I can.”
Another factor in him coming to Nebraska is to be back with his host family, the Hausmann's. Norris's Ashton Hausmann will play for the Huskers next season as a defensive back. Ashton's father, Joey, and uncles Adam and Matt Ickes also played at NU as walk-ons in the '90s and early 2000s.
Nouili became very close with the Hausmann family and is excited to reunite with them and play with Ashton next season.
“I wish Ashton was a running back, but since he’s on the defensive side of the ball, I guess I’m going to smack him in the back of the head,” Nouili joked.
Besides Nebraska, both Boston College and Kansas State reached out to Nouili this week, along with several FCS and Junior College programs.
Even though Nouili has lived in the United States for less than 18 months, there's something about Nebraska and the Cornhusker program that stuck with him. He's excited to get back to Lincoln and move forward with his football career.
“I went to all the home games and I think I have about 700 pictures just from the crowd,” Nouili said. “I think it’s something I’ve never seen before. Soccer, as you know, is a big thing in Germany, but I’ve been to soccer games and it’s not the same as here. It’s not the Sea of Red. Then I found out about the sellout streak, and then I was like, ‘that’s a long time!’ Then you find out about the culture and what it means to be a part of the Pipeline or the Blackshirts.
"People that played here mattered in a different way than anywhere else I’ve been. I want to be a part of the Pipeline, and I want to bring them back. I know that for the past few years it’s not been a great situation for them, but I’m ready to help them bring back the culture of the national championship teams.”
