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.
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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.