Eugene Asante

Early life

Asante grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. His parents are Ghanaian immigrants and his older brother Larry played five seasons in the NFL. Asante played football at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia where he was named the defensive player of the year for Northern Virginia as a senior. A four star prospect, he committed to play college football at the University of North Carolina (UNC) over in-state Virginia Tech.

College career

Asante primarily played special teams in his first season at UNC, recording 12 tackles on the season, 8 of which came against Mercer, when he led the team in tackles. In 2020, he made his first career start against Virginia Tech and in the Orange Bowl against Texas A&M had a game-high 10 tackles. Following the 2021 season he announced that he would be transferring to Auburn University. Asante appeared in the first four games on the season in 2022, before being placed on the practice squad by then-head coach Bryan Harsin. Asante would become a leader of the Tigers defense in 2023. In Week 2 against California, Asante recorded 12 tackles and a sack as the Tigers won 14–10. For his performance he was named the SEC co-defensive player of the week.