Auburn Linebacker Eugene Asante Discusses the Scouting Combine And His NFL Future

Athlon Sports

In this interview with Athlon Sports' Doug Farrar, Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante discussed his NFL future, the scouting combine, and what he's learned from his family.

Transcript

00:00Hello, this is Doug Farrar with Athlon Sports and another series of Watching Tape with a

00:07very cool one today.

00:08We have Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante and Eugene, kind of an interesting history.

00:14I put up some examples of your tape on Twitter because I just love watching tape and you

00:18reached out to me and we started talking about your traits and attributes and it got around

00:24to hey, let's watch some tape together and I thought that was cool.

00:27So first of all, thank you for reaching out and thanks for taking the time today.

00:31Yes sir, thank you for having me, I appreciate it.

00:34Well let's start with, I want to start with your older brother Larry, who was selected

00:38in the fifth round of the 2010 draft for the Browns, played five years in the NFL.

00:43He's now the DB coach at Coffeyville Junior College and he's got a book coming out which

00:46is pretty cool.

00:47Before we get into your tape and what you're doing right now, what have you learned from

00:52him about life and football and especially this NFL transition you're about to undergo?

00:58Because not a lot of guys have older brothers who have been through all the stuff you're

01:00going through or will go through.

01:03Yeah, it's great to have a great example of my brother, I went through it.

01:08So just being able to follow in his footsteps and understand that he's kind of paved the

01:12way for me in terms of my football journey and all the things that he's learned within

01:18the game of football.

01:19And he tries to pass that knowledge on to me and it's such a smooth thing as a player

01:23being able to have somebody right in your corner that gives you all the key notes to

01:27be able to go be successful and it really just makes the playing field even more leveled

01:35for me.

01:36So I go out there and just have fun and just rely on the information that he's given me.

01:42So I go out there and play fast and I understand all these processes, I understand the combine

01:46process, I understand the senior bowl process because he's directly been in it.

01:50So it's great having my brother in my corner and I oftentimes tell him just how much I'm

01:55appreciative of him just for that knowledge and imparting it on me.

01:59Totally.

02:00Well, speaking of playing fast, what did you do?

02:02Your combine was pretty spectacular, ran a 4-4-8-40, 1.58-10 yard split at 6'0.5-223.

02:09You had a top speed of 22.54 miles per hour on your 40s and you had the highest athleticism

02:16score of any linebacker of the 2025 combine.

02:19So just in general, how did you feel about the ways you did the drills?

02:22How did you feel about the whole process?

02:24Did you come away feeling that, yeah, I showed NFL teams what I wanted to show them?

02:28Oh yeah, 100%.

02:29You know, first and foremost, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to showcase

02:34my talents on that stage and that platform.

02:37I got the senior bowl invite early during the season and I was so excited and pumped

02:41to get that invite in.

02:44Coach was told, you know, I didn't get the combine invite until kind of later in the

02:48process.

02:49And, you know, I was told like, hey, just go out there and ball during the senior bowl.

02:53Don't focus on the combine.

02:54Just do your, handle your business at the senior bowl and you can get a combine invite.

02:57So I felt like I did some really good things at the senior bowl, just showing coaches flying

03:02around, making plays and, you know, just having fun playing the game I love.

03:06And, you know, I was able to get that combine invite two days after senior bowl practice.

03:11So day two of senior bowl practice.

03:13So I was late bloomer in that sense.

03:15And then get the combine invite and, you know, you're transitioning and you're like, man,

03:21you want to go out there and perform, you know?

03:23And you know, for me, it was all just, you know, showcasing that I can run, being able

03:29to do different things and just my burst and, you know, I felt like I showed that with the

03:3440 I ran.

03:35Quite frankly, I wanted a faster time than I have and running faster times than that.

03:41A low 4-4, pushing into the 4-3s.

03:45But, you know, I'm excited to put that on tape, you know, me running 4-4-8 and showing

03:51that 10-yard split is extremely important in terms of explosion, being able to explode

03:55at the blocks.

03:56That's huge.

03:57And, you know, just, it was great being around all those linebackers, like we were pushing

04:02each other.

04:03The drills was fun, like energetic and everything we did.

04:05And, you know, I felt like I built a brotherhood of, you know, linebackers within this draft

04:09class.

04:10I can communicate with Demetrius Knight, I can communicate with Shemar James, I can communicate

04:14with Jaha Campbell and Jalen Walker, you know, it's just all love and, you know, we're going

04:19to continue to try to push each other to greatness in the NFL.

04:23That will happen in the NFL, you know, there are brotherhoods and, you know, guys on other

04:27teams talk and, you know, this cornerback and that cornerback and it becomes a thing.

04:31So you mentioned to me you're doing the agility drills at your pro day?

04:34Yes, sir.

04:35Okay.

04:36What were your meetings with NFL teams like?

04:39What kind of things did they ask you or like common things you were asked?

04:42Yeah, so we're just talking about schematics, breaking, learning their scheme, talking about

04:47my scheme, talking about plays, going through plays, just understanding the concepts of

04:51defense and just how information is presented and how you retain information was a big thing.

04:58And also talking about your history, what makes you who you are and, you know, all the

05:03hardships you've been through your life and just what really makes you as a human being

05:09It was a breakdown of all those things and, you know, I felt like it was a great process

05:13just to be able to sit there and, you know, talk to coaches about your upbringing, talk

05:17to coaches about what, why you love the game of football and, you know, I truly enjoy that

05:21process.

05:22Why do you love the game of football?

05:24Yeah.

05:25Why I love the game of football is first and foremost, I feel like when I go out on the

05:31football field, I want to go out there.

05:35You know, my dad passed away in 2022 and he was going through a lot of hardships in terms

05:41of health complications and my dad was on diabetes, had dialysis and stuff like that.

05:49And his dialysis schedule was Monday, Wednesday, Friday, wake up every day, 5 a.m. to go to

05:54dialysis.

05:55And I would oftentimes when I was home, I would take him to the dialysis early in the

06:00morning and he would wake me up instead of me waking him up and say, Gene, we got to

06:05go to dialysis.

06:06I need you to drive me.

06:07And the tough thing, you know, was he was fighting for his life.

06:13He was waking up every morning.

06:14He was fighting for his life.

06:16I'm waking up every morning and I'm fighting for something.

06:19I say I want to make a career and that's what I love.

06:22So we're fighting for two different things.

06:24He was fighting for his life and I'm fighting for my football dreams.

06:27So why can't I wake up every day with a positive attitude, positive mindset to go out there

06:31and, you know, try to perform, you know.

06:34And I look at it from a gratitude standpoint, you know, I'm grateful to play the game I

06:38love it.

06:39You know, I've been, you know, I've been through so much ups and downs within my football journey.

06:45Being on scout team, being denied the opportunity to play.

06:48So every single time I'm out there, I want to play with relentless effort.

06:51So coach, no coach can ever deny that I'm going out there and giving it my all.

06:56So that's truly why I love the game of football.

06:59You know, I'm, you know, I'm fighting for something and in remembrance of my father.

07:03That's why, that's why I continue to play the game.

07:05That's why I play it the way I do.

07:06Yeah.

07:07It puts it a lot in perspective and it says a lot about you too.

07:10Who are your linebacker prototypes?

07:12Who are the guys you watch in the NFL and you think, yeah, these are the guys I want

07:16to be like.

07:17These are the guys I could be like.

07:18Yeah.

07:19I watch a lot of guys.

07:20There's a lot of great guys within the league.

07:23I think one guy I love to watch, of course, is Fred Werner.

07:28I watch him from a standpoint of, he's very ball hungry.

07:33When I say ball hungry, he's a guy that goes in and is very intentional about getting that

07:38football out.

07:39You know, that's something I try to pride myself on and being a player that creates

07:43disruption on that side of the ball.

07:45So being able to get the ball out and get the ball back to our offense is very important.

07:51Fred Werner.

07:52You don't have to break in.

07:53That determination shows up on your tape, by the way.

07:57You're a chaos generator, sir, and I mean that in a very good way.

08:00I appreciate that.

08:01I appreciate it.

08:02Fred Werner.

08:03I love the way Roquan commands that defense in Baltimore.

08:09Just the way he, you know, as a veteran leader, being able to fly around the field and, you

08:13know, get the troops aligned and the way he just plays the game.

08:17I followed him when he was at Georgia.

08:18I loved him when he was at Georgia and all the things he's doing with Baltimore is great.

08:25I used to love, I loved Devin White when he was with the Bucs and him and Levante David,

08:30the tandem that was working together.

08:33I liked how Devin White was flying around the field, being able to run sideline to sideline,

08:38being somebody that was dynamic in the blitzing game and I really loved those tapes when he

08:44was with Levante.

08:45I felt like they were a great duo.

08:48But those are primarily, and Levante as well, Levante is a great backer.

08:53Oftentimes, I feel like he doesn't get the credit he deserves.

08:56He's been doing it for so many years.

08:57Oh, he never has.

08:58Yeah.

08:59Yeah.

09:00When he's made like one Pro Bowl, it's just stupid.

09:01It's crazy.

09:02All of those guys are guys I watch, yes, sir.

09:06It's funny, I was talking to my colleague, Luke Easterling at Athlon, and he's from Tampa,

09:09Bucs guy, and I said, you know, I mentioned I was going to be watching a few.

09:13There's some Devin White in his game with the blitzing and the forward motion.

09:16I can see the similarities, the parallels there.

09:19Yes, sir.

09:22So three seasons at North Carolina, three at Auburn.

09:24You had eight sacks, 42 pressures, 136 solo tackles, 70 stops, a lot of great short area

09:30pass defense.

09:32In today's NFL, you look at guys like Zach Bond, Frankie Louver, the guys who can do

09:36it all.

09:37Fred Warner, obviously.

09:38Ro Kwon, obviously.

09:39How important is it for you to be that sort of four-tool guy as a linebacker where your

09:44defensive coaches never have to worry about, oh, I can't put Eugene on the field for X

09:50because he can't do X.

09:51How important is that to you?

09:52Yeah, it's extremely important.

09:53I think anybody that is a competitor by nature understands that you want to go out there

10:00and be able to contribute in all forms and facets, and you don't want to be limited in

10:04any sense on the football field.

10:07So it's really on us as the players to hone in on the details of our job.

10:11Any person that's competitive wants to go out there and be able to do everything, you

10:15know, being able to stop the run, being physical within the run game, being able to do the

10:21drop back and pass coverage, and be stout within pass coverage, and then being able

10:26to be dynamic within your blitzes and do different things in terms of the twist game, blitzing,

10:32and just getting quarterbacks off the spot.

10:34So all these components are components I harp on, continue on to prove on, and just understanding

10:42to sharpen my blades, understanding that I'm honing in on my strengths, building upon my

10:48strengths, and then just trying to build upon the things I need to work upon.

10:52And, you know, as a football player, it's a continuous cycle of growth.

10:55You're never going to have it down.

10:58And those are things I hone in on.

11:00I love football, so I always want to improve and get better.

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