Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
1 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Hunter Nourzad began his college football career at Cornell, where he started 20 consecutive games at offen- sive tackle and won second-team FCS All-America honors in 2021. After graduating from the Ivy League school, Nourzad transferred to Penn State last year, moving to guard while he adjusted to the rigors of Power Five football. He began the 2022 campaign as a backup lineman but joined the starting lineup for the Nittany Lions' final eight games after Landon Tengwall suffered a season-ending injury in October. This year, Nourzad made another switch, moving from guard to center. With Juice Scruggs off to the NFL, the Lions needed a veteran presence in the middle of their offensive front. In the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Nourzad, they saw the ideal man for the job. Nourzad turned out to be a stalwart for the Lions, starting all 12 regular- season games in his final year of college football. In addition, as one of the most experienced players on the offensive side of the ball, he helped Penn State persevere through a late-season lead- ership change, with position coaches Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle taking charge of the offense in mid-November following the dismissal of coordinator Mike Yurcich. Nourzad recently met with reporters to discuss both his final season and his career. QUESTION: What have you seen from Ja'Juan Seider and Ty Howle now that they're in charge of the offense for the rest of the season? What kind of leaders are they in the offensive room? NOURZAD: "They're both great coaches and great men in general. They both exude confidence, and I think it passes along to the offensive room. We feel really good about those two taking over that position. … They've always been very confident in what they can do, how they approach each day and how they approach us as players." QUESTION: What did they do to make the transition as smooth as pos- sible? NOURZAD: "It's just kind of built into our culture that every day we come with the same mindset to work as hard as we can, prepare as much as we can, and just get ready for the next Saturday. They're continuing to speak our culture into reality." QUESTION: You've played all three positions on the offensive line during your career. Is center the most difficult of the three? How do you feel you've adjusted to the responsibilities of that position this year, and where do you still need to grow? NOURZAD: "I think people see the offensive line being kind of like one posi- tion, but each of the three —tackle, guard and center — all have very different re- sponsibilities and different little things that make them more difficult or less difficult than others. "I like playing center. I think it's fun to be able to look at the defense and decide what we have to do and what's going on. Maybe I can see some keys that could trigger something, maybe another call. "There are always things I need to work on. It comes out of fundamentals, even just communicating on the field, seeing stuff. My pass protection needs to get better, my run blocking needs to get better. There's really nothing that I don't need to work on." QUESTION: James Franklin has talked about wanting to get the right people in the program, people who believe in Penn State. You've now spent two years here, and I'm wondering, how would you de- fine what it means to be a Penn Stater? NOURZAD: "I'll speak from a football perspective, because it's easier for me to speak that way. I think just embodying our core values and having the ability to move through adversity in a very calm and confident way — that's what makes us Penn State." QUESTION: Looking back on your decision to transfer to Penn State, what do you feel you got out of it now that your college career is coming to a close? NOURZAD: "That's a really good question. When I came here, I just wanted to be a part of a big-time college football organization and experience that and play at the highest level of competition, which I think I have. "I feel like it's a really special place when you think about all of the energy [from] our fan base and all that stuff that goes into it. It's just a really special place to play." Sitting Down With Super Senior Center Hunter Nourzad In his final year at the college level, Nourzad started all 12 regular-season games at center for the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL