Larry Asante

Career Highlights

• 2009 First-Team All-Big 12 (Coaches, Rivals.com)
• 2009 Second-Team All-Big 12 (San Antonio News-Express, Dallas Morning News)
• 2009 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Associated Press)
• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Kansas State, 2009)
• 2008 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (AP, Coaches)
• 2007 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
• 2007 Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll

2009 (Senior)
Safety Larry Asante finished his Nebraska career in strong fashion in 2009, helping the Cornhuskers feature one of the nation's top defenses. His play earned him first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches. The Alexandria, Va., native capped a career that saw him start 36 of 39 games during his three seasons in Lincoln.

Asante continued to show strong all-around skills from his safety spot in 2009, patrolling the middle of the field in a stingy NU pass defense, while also doing an outstanding job in run support. Asante finished his senior season third on the team with 79 tackles, including 42 solo stops. His tackle numbers as a senior pushed his total to 224 career stops, the third-most in school history among defensive backs.

Asante had eight games during his senior season with at least six tackles, including five of the final seven games of his career. He also added a pair of interceptions, including a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette, and was fourth on the team with seven pass breakups.

Asante led the team with eight tackles against Arkansas State, including seven solo stops. He played very well in Nebraska's five-game win streak to end the regular season. He had six tackles, a tackle for loss and a breakup at Baylor, then recorded eight tackles and a breakup in a 10-3 win over Oklahoma. Asante played one of the most complete games of his career in the Big 12 North clinching win over Kansas State. He totaled a season-high 10 tackles, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble against the Wildcats, earning Asante Big 12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors. He capped the year with six-tackle efforts against both Colorado and Texas.

Asante started at safety all three of his years in the Nebraska program after playing linebacker at Coffeyville Community College. Asante had 78 tackles in 2007, including 40 solo stops and earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors. He had at least eight tackles six times, including a season-high 10 stops against Texas A&M.

Asante was a key cog in one of the nation's most improved defenses in 2008. He finished the year with 67 tackles, including 45 solo stops and also broke up four passes. Asante's play helped Nebraska improve more than 125 yards per game in total defense. He earned honorable-mention all-conference honors for the second consecutive season.

2008 (Junior)
The Virginia native started 12 games and finished the 2008 season as NU’s second-leading tackler with 67 stops, including 45 solo tackles. Asante added two tackles for loss, including a sack, four pass breakups and grabbed his first career interception against Colorado. He helped Nebraska rank second in the Big 12 in total defense, while also finishing second in passing yards allowed. The 2008 Huskers allowed 126 fewer yards per game than the 2007 unit.

Asante made at least five tackles in eight games, led by a career-high 13 stops at Oklahoma. He added nine tackles and a pass breakup in the Huskers’ narrow overtime loss at Texas Tech. Asante recorded seven tackles in the victory over Baylor and had his first career sack (four yards) and a pair of tackles for loss in the contest.

2007 (Sophomore)
Asante arrived at Nebraska in time for spring practice and made the transition to safety after playing linebacker at Coffeyville. Asante won the starting strong safety job during spring ball and made 78 tackles on the season, including 40 solo stops.

Asante made at least two tackles in every game, and recorded at least eight tackles six times, including a season-high 10 stops against Texas A&M. He had nine tackles in four games–Wake Forest, Iowa State, Texas and Kansas–and made eight tackles against top-ranked USC. Asante also forced a fumble against the Trojans and finished the year with four pass breakups, including two at Texas.

Before Nebraska (Hayfield/Coffeyville CC)
Asante played linebacker for Coffeyville CC, using his speed and ball-hawking abilities to register 76 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and an interception as a redshirt freshman in 2006. His performance netted Asante All-Jayhawk League honors, and honorable-mention All-America honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association. Asante was ranked among the top 10 overall junior college prospects in the nation by Rivals.com.

Asante originally hails from Alexandria, Va., where he attended Hayfield High School. As a prepster, Asante starred on both sides of the ball. He earned all-league honors as a running back in the AAA Patriot Division according to the Washington Post. He chose Nebraska over Clemson, and also visited Kansas State and Iowa State.

Personal
Larry is the son of Paul and Juliana Asante and was born on March 7, 1988. He is majoring in economics and was named to the 2007 Big 12 Spring Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Asante's Career Statistics

	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.
2007	12/10	40	38	78	0-0	0-0	1-0	0	4	0	1
2008	13/12	45	22	67	2-4	1.0-4	0-0	0	4	1-0	1
2009	14/14	42	37	79	1-2	0-0	2-0	0	7	2-74	0
Totals	39/36	127	97	224	3-6	1.0-4	3-0	0	15	3-74	2

Single-Game Highs
Tackles–13 at Oklahoma, 2008
Solo Tackles–9 at Oklahoma, 2008
Tackles for Loss-2-4 vs. Baylor, 2008
Sacks-1.0-4 vs. Baylor, 2008
Pass Breakups-2 at Texas, 2007, Florida Atlantic, 2009 and at Missouri, 2009