Brian Asamoah
Oklahoma

Brian Asamoah

  • LB Sooners
  • Junior
  • #--
  • 6'1"
  • 228lbs
  • Prospect
  • Big 12
TDN 100 TDN100 Prospect

Top Traits

Tackling

Asamoah is an explosive finisher with a nearly 80" wingspan.

Tackling

Brian Asamoah

Asamoah has great closing speed to the ball-carrier, which allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly. On arrival, Asamoah will greet ball-carriers with a big-time hit. Asamoah accelerates through ball-carriers which results in big-time hits. At times, he can overrun plays because of his aggressive nature to get to the ball-carrier as quickly as possible.

Lateral Mobility

Asamoah is capable of covering a ton of grass on the second level.

Lateral Mobility

Brian Asamoah

Asamoah is a quick-twitch athlete that has good lateral mobility shown by his ability to quickly flow sideline to sideline. Against the run, Asamoah is able to quickly scrape sideline to sideline effortlessly. Asamoah can also flow one direction and then quickly redirect to another direction.

Versatility

Asamoah can certainly man the WILL position — but could he handle more?

Versatility

Brian Asamoah

At Oklahoma, Asamoah played primarily the MIKE linebacker position, but he has the athletic traits to play multiple positions in a 4-3 scheme. Early in his NFL career, Asamoah may be best suited as a WILL linebacker where he can play in space and flow freely. He will also excel in situations where he is asked to cover RBs and TEs in one-on-one situations. Asamoah is a natural linebacker but his athleticism will allow for a team to place him in multiple positions.

Prospect Summary

Brian Asamoah chose Oklahoma over Arizona, Arizona State, and Cincinnati. Early in Asamoah’s career, he struggled to see playing time due to his lack of understanding of the complex Oklahoma defense. Going into the 2020 season, Asamoah was named the starting inside linebacker, taking over for first-round pick Kenneth Murray.

As a starter, Asamoah did not disappoint, becoming an instant impact player for the Sooners. As a prospect, Asamoah shows great athleticism that allows him to be a sideline-to-sideline player showcasing great closing speed to the ball-carrier. Asamoah has the ability to key and diagnose run plays, and on arrival, Asamoah is a violent tackler that thrusts his entire body into the ball-carrier. Asamoah is a good athlete at linebacker that should see early playing time in nickel packages in the NFL.

Ideal Role: Defense with simplified reads where he can read and chase

Scheme Fit: 4-3 WILL linebacker

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Keith Sanchez

Games watched: Florida (2020), Nebraska (2021), Texas (2021), West Virginia (2021), Baylor (2021)

Best Game Studied: Florida (2020)

Worst Game Studied: West Virginia (2021)

Tackling: See Above.

Football IQ/Instincts: When playing the run, Asamoah is capable of reading blocks and tracking the ball-carrier to a gap. He uses his natural instincts to maneuver through traffic and defeat blocks while working toward the ball-carrier. Asamoah can use improvement on properly reading misdirection plays. There were multiple examples where the offense used pulling guards and fake jet sweeps to get Asamoah to flow to the wrong gap.

Competitive Toughness: This player is a high-level competitor that doesn’t mind getting in opponents’ faces to make his presence felt. On any given play you see him give max effort to work his way to the ball. Asamoah is also a player that celebrates his teammates making plays and encourages them to continue to play hard.

Pass Coverage Ability: Asamoah is an exceptional athlete, which allows him to cover a substantial amount of ground quickly in pass coverage. On play-action plays, Asamoah can play the run, and when he realizes that it is past he can quickly bail out of the play and sink into his zone to disrupt any throwing lanes created by the play-action fake. In man coverage, Asamoah has the athleticism to cover backs out of the backfield effectively.

Run Defending: For Asamoah, run defending is a trait that he flashes high-level plays, but he is inconsistent. Asamoah is capable of properly following his run keys and flowing to the ball-carrier to make the tackle. But, at times, he has eye violations where he reads the wrong keys and it results in him being out of position, compromising the integrity of the defense. Asamoah, at times, will also flow too hard to the direction of the play and give up cut-back opportunities to the ball-carrier. At the next level, Asamoah will need to improve eye discipline and patience in order to become a reliable three-down linebacker.

Block Deconstruction: Asamoah has multiple techniques that he uses to deconstruct blocks. He’s able to utilize is his long arms by quickly shooting them and shedding the offensive lineman off of him to make the tackle. He is able to dip and rip under offensive linemen, avoiding full contact with them to get to the ball-carrier. While Asamoah is effective at deconstructing blocks, he needs to become more consistent. There are many instances where he allows the offensive lineman to get into his chest plate and it’s hard for him to disengage with them.

Lateral Mobility: See Above.

Flexibility: There are many examples of Asamoah’s flexibility throughout his game. Asamoah is an effective blitzer and this is because he is able to sink his hips and dip and rip under offensive linemen to get pressure on the quarterback. His flexibility also shows in his quick reaction laterally. Asamoah can effortlessly change direction in explosive bursts due to his fluid hips.

Leadership: As the inside linebacker for the Sooner defense, Asamoah is a great communicator. There are numerous examples of him calling the defense and aligning teammates into the proper gap. He is also a high-effort player, so he leads by example in giving high effort throughout the duration of the game.

Versatility: See Above.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 78.00/100 (Third Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 79.00/100

Marino Grade: 78.00/100

Harris Grade: 77.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 78.00/100

Weissman Grade: 78.00/100

Parson Grade: 78.00/100