Hesham Mohammed Ismail (born June 11, 1969) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

and was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the eighth round of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

. He also played for the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) and the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF).

Early life

Hesham Mohammed Ismail was born on June 11, 1969, in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

. His parents are from Egypt. He attended

Auburndale High School Auburndale High School is a four-year public high school located in Auburndale, Florida, United States, and a part of Polk County Public Schools. The school serves about 1,800 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In 2012, construction wa ...

Auburndale, Florida Auburndale is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,616 at the 2020 census. History Auburndale was founded in 1880 by Frank Fuller, ...

. Ismail earned Class 4A first-team all-state honors as a senior in 1986.

College career

Ismail was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

from 1988 to 1991. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1987 after tearing ankle tendons during a scrimmage. He played in eight games, starting two, at right guard as a redshirt freshman in 1988. In 1989, Ismail appeared in every game as a backup left guard behind Mark White. Ismail was then a two-year starter at left guard from 1990 to 1991. He earned

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP) third-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and AP and Coaches first-team All- SEC honors his senior year in 1991. He played in 44 games, starting the final 22, during his college career. Ismail majored in exercise and sports science.

Professional career

Ismail was selected by the

in the eighth round, with the 206th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 14, 1992. He was waived on August 25, 1992. Ismail signed with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

on June 9, 1993. He was cut on August 19, 1993. Ismail was signed by the

of the

in April 1994. He spent the first three weeks of the 1994 season on injured reserve. On June 27, 1994, it was reported that Ismail had signed with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. However, he ended up failing his physical with the Colts due to a hamstring injury he suffered while with the Storm. Ismail returned to the Storm afterwards and finished the 1994 season with them. Overall, he played in nine games for the Storm that year, recording eight solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and one fumble recovery. He was an offensive lineman/defensive lineman during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. In November 1994, Ismail, Tony Chickillo, and

Travis Pearson Travis Pearson (born July 25, 1971) is an American college football coach and former professional player. He is the defensive coordinator for Georgia State University. He played seven seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Tampa Bay ...

were traded to the

Miami Hooters Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...

for

Cedric McKinnon Cedric McKinnon (February 2, 1968 – May 24, 2016) was an American professional football player who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Cleveland Thunderbolts and Tampa Bay Storm. He played college football at Bethu ...

. Ismail played for the

of the

in 1995 and was listed as an offensive guard.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Hesham Living people 1969 births American football offensive linemen American football defensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Florida Gators football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Houston Oilers players Tampa Bay Storm players Baltimore Stallions players Miami Hooters players Scottish Claymores players Players of American football from Polk County, Florida Players of Canadian football from Florida American people of Egyptian descent