A lightly recruited prospect coming out of high school, Nourzad spent the first portion of his college career in the Ivy League playing at Cornell. He was a two-year starter for the Big Red at right tackle in 2019 and 2021 (no 2020 season for the Ivies), earning second-team All-Ivy distinction in 2019 and second-team All-FCS in 2021. Nourzad then made the decision to make the jump to the FBS ranks, picking the Nittany Lions over the likes of Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Iowa.
Nourzad jumped right into the fray in Happy Valley. He started eight games at left guard for Penn State while battling nagging injuries in 2022, and started all 13 games at center in 2023, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors in the process.