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“I played recreational sports as a kid, but I didn’t start to play competitively until high school. And even then, I wasn’t very good; I really needed to develop my skills. The football coaches were all nice to me though, because I was big,” Ahmad says, in his typical dry wit.

Although he would eventually become a college-caliber football player by the time he graduated, it was the academic program that drove his college decision. “My parents both had PhDs, and they wanted the best education possible for me,” he said. “I wanted to study athletic training, and few programs compared to Ithaca’s. I loved how hands-on the classes were, so I made up my mind quickly that IC was the place for me.”

In fact, Ahmad’s first interactions with the football staff at Ithaca came after he’d made up his mind to come to South Hill—unbeknownst to then-head coach Mike Welch ’73 and his staff.

“I was on my second visit to campus and [then-defensive coordinator] Mark Raymond found me while I was on my tour and said, ‘I want you to talk to you about the football program.’ I guess my high school coach had called and told them I was going to be on campus. So, I was taken on an impromptu recruiting visit.”

After letting the coaches know he was already committed to Ithaca, Ahmad joined the team, and his love affair with the sport really began.

“I got pushed to be the best I could be by coach Welch, coach Raymond, and [former offensive coordinator] Brian Angelichio,” he said. “I learned so many life lessons from them, and realized I wasn’t going to be done with the game when I was finished playing.”

By this time, Ahmad had switched his major to health and physical education, with his mind set on becoming “the winningest high school football coach in New Jersey.”

He might have been on his way there as, after graduating, he took a job at Lakewood High School, coaching football, track, and basketball. But then the phone rang. It was Welch.

“Mike called me and asked me to come back and work with the football program while getting my master’s degree,” Ahmad said. “I jumped at the opportunity.”

He returned to Ithaca, working with the Bombers’ running game and towards his graduate degree in exercise and sport sciences. But before long, he was presented with an opportunity to earn a different type of advanced degree.

“A job opened up at Rutgers University on their football staff,” he said. “I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I left IC to take the position and…wow.

“We have a very advanced program for Division III,” Ahmad explains. “But with the investment put in at the Division I level, it’s like you’re getting a PhD in football.”

After spending two years working with playbooks and practice plans, he realized he wasn’t in love with life as a coach, in particular the instability inherent in the position. So, he moved to the recruiting side, serving as the Scarlet Knights’ director of recruiting operations. There, he drew heavily on what he learned at Ithaca.

“My undergraduate degree had given me the opportunity to work with high school students. It had opened the door to a high school coaching job, getting me even more experience,” he said. “And I did so many things as a grad assistant at IC. I was the video coordinator, I was helping come up with practice plans, I was helping with travel logistics. That gave me a diverse skill set I could bring to that job.”

After seven years in Piscataway—during which time he completed the master’s degree he began at Ithaca—Ahmad had made his mark. Still, he was a bit wary of the long-term stability of a career in college football and decided it was time to shoot his shot at the pros. He reached out to three franchises he’d made connections with through his role at Rutgers. One of those organizations was the 49ers, who invited him out to their camp for three days.

“I attended meetings, watched tape of college players, and wrote evaluations on three players from the upcoming draft class,” he recalled. “After my time was up, they offered me a job as a scouting assistant.”

And although he no longer has time to closely follow the Bombers on Saturdays, Ahmad is still connected to the program. He called it an “incredible honor” to serve on the search committees for Welch’s successor, Dan Swanstrom, and current head coach Mike Toerper.

He’s also mentored former Bombers with next-level aspirations—such as 2019 all-American wide receiver Will Gladney, who briefly signed with the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League in 2022—about the process of getting prepared for professional tryouts. And he recently evaluated Derek Sylwka ’23 at a 49ers minicamp before the all-American safety signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Through it all, Ahmad wears his Bomber pride on his sleeve, literally.

“In my current role, I’m in San Francisco more than I used to be, and we’ve got strict rules about wearing 49ers gear when you’re at the team facility,” he said. “But when I’m not there? That’s when I wear my IC stuff. People think it’s funny, but I call my Ithaca apparel my fancy clothes.”