Watching Tape With Auburn Linebacker Eugene Asante

Asante reached out to me almost immediately after I put all that stuff up, thanking me for both the good and the bad in that review. We talked for a while, and I asked if he'd like to watch a little tape with me to drill down into his game. Soon after that, I had the six plays Asante sent me that he would like to discuss, I added one of my own, and it was time to get down to business.

Asante, who also had 35 solo tackles, 23 stops, and allowed 18 catches on 26 targets for 217 yards, 121 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no interceptions, one pass deflection, and an opponent passer rating of 107.4 last season, discussed everything about his game with me, and I greatly appreciated how he was just as upfront about the things that didn't pop off the tape in a positive sense as he was about the things that did. 

For draft prospects, I try to approximate what might happen in a combine meeting or team facility visit, where teams will go through plays with the prospect and get a better sense of how well the player and the person might fit with their team. Since we're team-agnostic at Athlon Sports, we went with the 30,000-foot view, but Asante presented a great deal of insight regarding his NFL transition. 

Of course, that transition has been helped by the fact that he has an older brother who has been through all of this already. Larry Asante did play in the NFL, and he's currently the defensive backs coach at Coffeyville Junior College in Coffeyville, Kansas, so he's certainly helped little brother. 

Auburn Linebacker Eugene Asante Discusses the Scouting Combine And His NFL Future (11:04)

"Yeah, it's great to have a great example in my brother," Asante said. "Just being able to follow in his footsteps and understand that he's kind of paved the way for me in terms of my football journey and all the things that he's learned within the game of football, he tries to pass that knowledge on to me.

"And it's such a smooth thing as a player being able to have somebody right in your corner that gives you all the key notes. To be able to go be successful, and it just makes the playing field even more level for me. So, I go out there and just have fun and just rely on the information that he's giving me."

As far as his linebacker prototypes — the guys he most admires and wants to be like in the NFL? 

"One guy I love to watch, of course, is Fred Warner," Asante said. "He's very ball-hungry, and when I say ball-hungry, he's a guy that goes in and is very intentional about getting that football out. You know, that's something I try to pride myself on — being a player that creates disruption on that side of the ball. So, being able to get the ball out, and get the ball back to our offense is very important. 

"I love the way Roquan [Smith] commands that defense in Baltimore. Just the way he is a veteran leader, being able to fly around the field, and get the troops in line, and [how he] plays the game. I followed him when he was at Georgia.

"I used to love Devin White when he was with the Bucs [Tampa Bay Buccaneers]. Him and Lavonte David, the tandem that was working together. I liked how Devin White was flying around the field, being able to run sideline to sideline, being somebody that was dynamic in the blitzing game. I really loved those tapes when he was with Lavonte [David]. I felt like they were a great duo. Lavonte as well. Lavonte is a great 'backer. Oftentimes, I feel like he doesn't get the credit he deserves."

So, how did Asante feel about his performance at the combine? 

"For me, it was all just showing that I can run. Being able to do different things, and just my burst. I felt like I showed that with the 40 I ran. Quite frankly, I wanted a faster time than I had.

"A low 4.4, pushing into the 4.3s, but, you know, I'm excited to put that on tape. Me running 4.48 and showing that 10-yard split is extremely important in terms of explosion, being able to slow down the blocks and, it was great being around all those linebackers. We were pushing each other, and the drills were fun. 

"I felt like I built a brotherhood. I can communicate with Demetrius Knight Jr. I can communicate with Shemar James. I can communicate with Jihaad Campbell and Jalon Walker, you know. It's just all love, and we're going to continue to try to push each other to greatness in the NFL."

Well, let's get to how Eugene Asante has started to push himself to greatness in the NFL. It's time to watch some tape.

_{Quarterback pressure vs. Cal, 2024}

Asante shorthanded his pressure against Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza (and the demolition block of running back Jaydn Ott) thusly: "Came off the edge, blew up the RB in protection, and got the QB too."

Well, that's pretty much what happened with 9:30 left in the first quarter of Auburn's 21-14 loss to Cal on September 7, 2024. Asante on his ability to rush from the edge, and blow up protections at his size: 

"I think when you talk about it, it's really all determination. I feel like within the game of football, some people may try to limit you in terms of weight, and say, 'Oh, he may not be able to do certain things because of his weight.'

"But I'm a person where I go out there with a chip on my shoulder every single play, just being able to go out there and be violent. And this was early within the game. I wanted to set the tone in terms of how this game was going to be a physical game. And I remember, a couple of [teammates] were like, hey, man, if you work a move on them, you'll be able to get around them and get to the quarterback. And I'm like, nah, I'm going for the bull."

I asked Asante if he felt that he could be a linebacker/EDGE hybrid in the NFL from Day 1. 

"100 percent," he responded. "You know, I have tape within me coming off the edge and working moves and just being isolated on tackles. I think what separates me is just my different array of moves. A lot of guys, they have film of them against a quarterback. Sometimes they'll be on blocking. But a lot of my tape is me working on centers, working on tackles and working moves and being able to actually work an array of moves within the pass game and showing my pass-rush ability. So, I feel very comfortable on the edge. And I've done a lot of that within these past two years."

_{Destroying a flare pass vs. Ole Miss, 2023}

Asante's shorthand description of this one: "I was on the back side hash when RB catches flare to the field and I hit the gas and go make a crucial tackle. That play is all EFFORT."

No kidding. Ole Miss had third-and-20 from the Auburn 20-yard line with 5:07 left in the first half. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw a quick flare pass to running back Ulysses Bentley IV to the right side of the field. Nobody expected Asante to fly all the way across to make the tackle 10 yards downfield, especially as Asante was jawing with, and signaling to, Dart pre-snap. 

"Right here, Jaxson's trying to identify where he's calling the slide [protection] to," Asante said. "So I'm pointing. I'm signaling to him, like, [call it] to me, like I'm coming [to rush]. And Jackson checks it."

Then, Asante crossed the field in a large hurry. 

"This play defines who I am, to be honest with you," he concluded. "I'm a person that goes all-out effort in everything I do. And when others may feel that they're out of the play, I never feel like I'm out of a play.

"I'm always going to hustle to the football, and give relentless effort in everything I do. Some players may loaf to the football on that play and say, 'Man, I got no chance of making it that play,'"

Well, loafing isn't generally a Eugene Asante problem. 

_{Mucking up a TE screen vs Oklahoma. 2024}

Asante's shorthand of this play early in the third quarter against Oklahoma last season was succinct, and entirely accurate. 

"3rd quarter, 13:56 on clock, TE screen, sniff it out and destroy play."

The idea on second-and-10 from the Oklahoma 11-yard line was to get the ball to tight end Bauer Sharp on a simple screen, and get some yards upfield on a relatively safe play. Asante's nuking of that idea put the concept to rest. It was a one-yard loss, instead. 

"So, to break down this play, they caught us in a pressure to the field," Asante said. "With these headsets now, their coaches are able to communicate effectively and check plays. And they caught us in a pressure look to the field. So they check it, they check the play, and move their tight end back to the boundary.

"And they hit a screen on us to about to the boundary early in the game. We're in a Cover-3 simulated [pressure] right here. Based on that play they hit on us earlier, the tight end screen, I was being very aggressive. Being able to diagnose the play, see that the tight end screen was developing, and destroy the play for a TFL."

If you can diagnose, you can move a lot faster on the field. one might say. Especially with ill intent for the offense. 

_{Tackle for loss vs. Mississippi State, 2023}

More Asante shorthand: "2nd quarter, 12 mins on the clock, blitz in run game, work thru garbage, and get RB for TFL."

With 12;04 left in the second quarter in 2023, Mississippi State had first-and-10 from their own three-yard line. Again, you want safe yardage here, and all quarterback Michael Wright Jr. wanted to do was to hand the ball to running back Jeffery Pittman for some free space. 

Asante had other ideas.

"They're backed up," Asante said. "We understand that their playbook is limited with them being backed up. There's only a certain amount of things they can do. They want to get out of their territory. They're not very comfortable in their territory. So we're expecting run game here. Our coach calls a pressure and I'm V-teching the guard. What does that mean for those who don't know? You're blitzing a V via the neck.

"If the guard blocks out, you're coming tight inside. If he blocks down, I believe I got a down block here. So you're chasing the ass of the guard."

Asante guessed right for a one-yard loss. 

_{More violence vs. Cal, 2023}

Jaydn Ott, the Cal running back that Asante blew up in Play 1, had this to say about Auburn in 2023: 

“There’s a lot of focus on the name ‘Auburn.' But what I’ve seen on film is not really in comparison to what their name is. I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, they’re still human, and we have just as much of a chance as they do to go in there and get the win.”

I asked Asante jokingly why he was so aggressive against Cal overall, and he brought up that bulletin board material. 

"Our coach showed it in team meeting room and we wanted to go out there and make a statement and be physical within the run game and, you know, let it be known that, you know, we're a physical defense. So we went out there and we did a really good thing in 2023 stopping their running back and their entire offense."

The continuation in 2024 was without Ott, who was dealing with an ankle injury. With 3:10 left in this game, it was Ashton Stredick who would have to deal with the aftereffects of the noise. With 3:14 left in the game, Cal had the ball at the Auburn 25-yard line, and it was up to Asante to snuff this one out. 

"They're just trying to get back on track; trying to get something manageable. And I understood that with first-and-20, they might pop a quick run to just try to get back on track, maybe get it to the second and 12, get eight yards. And based on our call right here, we have a, me hitting the B gap from, from an apex look. And quite frankly, this gap is so wide, based on our end right here."

Indeed, the way Auburn schemed up their overload front made all the difference, because Asante was able to shoot right though a gap that was four Asantes wide. 

"To be able to shoot my shot, play fast and make this tackle for a one yard gain instead of it running up on the safety... this play really contributed to the outcome of it, being a victory for us in Cal."

And Asante got his revenge in the following season.

_{More run fit damage vs. Kentucky, 2024}

With 6:45 left in the game against Kentucky last season, the Wildcats had first-and-goal at the Auburn three-yard line. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt handed the ball to running back Jason Patterson, and Asante blew it up for a one-yard gain. 

I asked Asante how he knew to hit the gap to the other side of the play. 

"Yeah, so this particular play, we got the call in late from our defense coordinator. But as soon as he gets the call in, I'm thinking about my line, and thinking about my time,and thinking about everything I have to do within that defense. And as soon as I get the call, I'm able to process and be able to react fast and understand how to get on that side of the ball.

"If they would have scored here, they would have been able to just get a stop on defense, and potentially go win the game. And there was a long skid for us at Auburn where we were on a losing streak, and this was a great win for us to get back on track."

Asante had to cross the face of the center to get to the play, which would have complicated things for some. Again, quick diagnosis leads to quick and correct reaction. 

_{Covering out wide vs. Vanderbilt, 2024}

I spoke with Asante about coverage a lot, because it's something where the athletic potential is all there — he just needs reps. Understandably, his coaches have wanted him to travel angrily in a forward line most of the time. So, I brought up this Cover-1 play against Vanderbilt last season, and the 28-yard touchdown he allowed to running back AJ Newberry.

When you watch tape with a player, and you bring up a negative play, there's always the danger of the player shutting down. Not so with Asante. When he says he's always looking to improve, he means it. Asante was outside because it was man coverage, and he had the responsibility to go wherever Newberry went. Asante nearly matched Newberry step-for-step, but there was a slight hitch in the coverage, and that's all it takes sometimes. 

"This was a play that really made me hone in and try to lock in with these coverage components," he said. "First and foremost, for me, just being able to show different things within coverage is important as a linebacker within the game of football. Now with these bona fide running backs that are bona fide receivers, Jahmyr Gibbs, James Cook, all these guys are lethal within the pass game.

"It's important to have linebackers that can match on them."

As it turned out, Asante wasn't caught flat-footed due to any athletic struggle; he was expecting a different route than the stutter-go he got.

"Third-and-6, 56 seconds left in the first quarter," he said. "So naturally I felt like they were going to go to a hitch [route] to get the yardage that they needed to get the first down. So I'm sitting heavy on that hitch route. I'm aggressive on the, the shallow routes right here. And I really should just get into my scooch technique, and then being able to open up, which I feel comfortable doing. But he goes to a stutter-go, and then catches the touchdown."

I asked Asante where he feels that he is in his coverage process. Especially when you have to switch from being an aggressive forward mover to backpedaling expertly. 

"It's certainly a thing that you have to compartmentalize and understand when you're in a position where you're covering," he said. "It's so vital to win with your feet. It's so vital to win with your movements. And then being able to, if you need to reroute, get a jam on them, those are all important things to take speed off the receiver.

"So it's all different components, and holding your leverage, like I said, is the important component of it. And being able to understand where your help is, is vital within understanding the components of a defense. So those are all things you have to, as a player, you have to process and understand, and the best players understand their leverage.

I'm very aware, and understand that. And, you know, from that play, I was able to gather so much knowledge and information and just understand what I had to bring to the table in terms of coverage component. And, you know, I've been locking in with my DBs, primarily all the position drills I've been doing has been DB training and being able to come out of my break, being able to open up the hips, being able to break down 90 degrees, break down 45 degrees, being able to... in terms of speed turn, just all these different types of things I've been honing in on.

"'Cause I understand that that's where I'm going to be able to thrive. And, you know, I have all the traits and the ability to do that. I just have to go."

Based on our conversation, he's further along than it looked, and he's clearly headed in the right direction.

It's always highly instructive to watch tape with any player, and with college players getting ready for their upcoming drafts, it's especially enlightening. Here is the NCAA prospect trying with all his might to become a legitimate NFL player in a very short space of time.

In Eugene Asante's case, talking with the person was just as impressive, if not even more impressive, than talking with the player. It's why NFL teams highly value those one-on-ones with prospects, because the tape can be great, but if the player isn't all there from a personality standpoint, there could be a hesitation when it's time to turn in that card. 

Wherever he's drafted, Eugene Asante's NFL team will probably turn in that card like Asante plays. With immediate intent, having done the work to properly diagnose, and with no hesitation whatsoever.