April marks the two-year anniversary of Yahya Attia’s introduction to American football.
Born in Egypt and raised in Austria playing soccer, the only exposure Attia had to football prior to suiting up for the European Football League in 2022 came from social media. He’s since earned the nickname “The Bulldozer” and is on the move again after spending time in Loughborough, England, with the NFL Academy.
The offensive lineman’s next destination is Boulder to play for Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program.
“I started American football two years ago,” Attia said. “Sometimes on the internet I saw videos from it, like big hits. I didn’t know any positions, I just felt like everybody was running with the ball.”
Attia began his gridiron journey with the the Vienna Vikings of the European Football League (ELF) two years ago. Known as one of Europe’s most successful clubs, the Vikings have five Eurobowl titles and were ELF champions in 2022.
Despite being a raw talent without much technique or knowledge of the sport early on, Attia was able to dominate using his sheer size (6-foot-4, 330 pounds) and strength.
“It was the first team I played for and it was a high level, quite professional for Europe,” Attia said. “Austria’s a small country but they’re still known for good American football. The Vienna Vikings are known in Europe.”
It took just one season of play for Attia to get a call from the Austrian national team. He helped his country beat Finland and Sweden to win the European title and qualify for the world championship held in 2025.
Attia’s experience and success playing football in Austria led him to the NFL Academy, a development program for student-athletes ages 16 to 19 years old looking to earn scholarships.
It’s the second time in as many years that a player has committed to Colorado from the NFL Academy. Linebacker Kofi Taylor-Barrocks arrived in Boulder ahead of the 2023 season after being ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the NFL Academy.
It was in Loughborough where Attia began to combine proper technique with his raw talent.
“Before I came to England, I basically won all of my reps because I was like the biggest and strongest guy there,” Attia said. “When I came here, all of the O-line is the same height as you, they’re all strong. Even the D-line is as tall and as big as you so I had to change a bit. I had to learn more of the technical stuff to win my reps.
“It was tough the first few weeks, but summer camp was great. We had nine practices a week so it was football all day. I got a lot better in that time. It was easy for me (at first) because of my size but I came here and got humbled with everyone as big as me. But when the technique came in, then I was like ‘OK maybe I can get to the next level with what I can do now.’ Now I’m at the next level.”
Colorado offensive line coach Phil Loadholt was the first member of the Buffs’ staff to reach out to Attia.
Loadholt sent Attia some technical drills to work on, but there was no initial offer. Admittedly, that’s when doubt began to creep into his mind.
“I’m mentally strong and I know that I’m a good player, of course I know I can get much better, but my self-confidence went down a bit,” Attia said of not receiving an offer from Loadholt and Colorado right away.
However, a few weeks later, Attia got a call late at night. In fact, it was so late that his phone is usually on do not disturb at that time.
It was Loadholt, who was on Mountain Standard Time, seven hours behind the clock in England. For some reason, Attia’s phone wasn’t on do not disturb that night.
He believes it was meant to be.
“He (Loadholt) told me ‘I talked with the coaches. We love your tape and we want you to get here,'” Attia said. “I was so happy. I think it was 11 at night here so everyone was sleeping. I couldn’t tell anyone, I couldn’t shout.
“The day after, I couldn’t even sleep but it was still my best practice.”
Attia said he can’t wait to work with Loadholt, who started 89 games at offensive tackle in the NFL, and learn from Deion Sanders. The goal is to earn playing time as a true freshman, but Attia knows that’s what every first-year player wants so he’s willing to be patient and grind in the meantime.
Despite facing an uphill battle due to his relatively limited football experience, motivation is not something Attia is low on.
He left his parents and twin brothers in Austria to pursue an opportunity with the NFL Academy. “The Bulldozer” is now on his way to Boulder, and his family back home is what gets him up every morning.
“My parents, I know where they come from and I just want to repay everything they’ve sacrificed for me and my two younger brothers,” Attia said. “Of course I’m doing this for myself, too, but I want to help my family and help my dad because he’s a bit older and retired early because of many surgeries so he can’t work.
“For the past few years, we’ve lived from the government’s funding, from their help. When I was back in Austria with my family, I was the only one who was working because my parents were too old and my brothers were still young. I didn’t make a lot of money but everything I got, I tried to help out with it. Now, I just want to give him the best few years of his life.”
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