Larry Gibbs Asante (born March 7, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Early years

Asante was born in

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He attended both

Annandale High School Annandale High School is a public high school in Annandale, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system. The school's student body has been well-recognized for its high level of racial and cultural diversity ...

in Annandale, VA and then the

Hayfield Secondary School Hayfield Secondary School is a secondary school (grades 7–12) in the Fairfax County Public Schools system of Virginia. It opened in 1968 and graduated its first senior class in 1971. History The land that Hayfield Secondary sits on was at one ...

outside

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, where he earned all-league honors as a running back in the AAA Patriot Division.

College career

Coffeyville Community College

Asante registered 76 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

as a linebacker at

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

Nebraska

Asante entered the 2007 season as the starting strong safety after transitioning from linebacker in the spring. He played in twelve games, starting ten of them. Asante started twelve games of the thirteen he played in 2008. He finished the 2008 season as , Nebraska's second-leading tackler with 67 tackles, including 45 solo tackles. He made at least five tackles in eight games, led by a career-high 13 stops at Oklahoma. Asante finished his last year at Nebraska with a career-high 79 tackles, including 42 solo stops. He forced two fumbles and recorded two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He started all 14 games in 2009 for a unit that led the nation in scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. He was selected to the first-team All-Big 12 team by conference coaches and Rival.com.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

The

selected Asante in the fifth round (160th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. Asante and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract worth about $1.96 million on July 16, 2010. Asante was waived by the Browns on September 4, 2010. On September 5, 2010 Asante was signed to the Browns practice squad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Asante was signed off the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

practice squad after a season-ending injury to starting rookie Cody Grimm. He appeared in the final two games of the 2010 season, recording an interception against

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

in the season finale against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was released on August 30, 2012.

Indianapolis Colts

Asante signed a reserve/future contract with the Indianapolis Colts on December 31, 2012.

Oakland Raiders

Asante signed with the Oakland Raiders on August 6, 2014.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asante, Larry 1988 births Living people American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football safeties Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Cleveland Browns players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Indianapolis Colts players Oakland Raiders players Annandale High School alumni