UNC Football: North Carolina helmet stickers vs Texas A&M

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 02: Dazz Newsome #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels catches a touchdown pass against Antonio Johnson #27 of the Texas A&M Aggies in the second quarter of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on January 02, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

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CHAPEL HILL, NC – OCTOBER 10: Patrice Rene #5, Chazz Surratt #21, and Eugene Asante #7 of North Carolina tackle Braxton Burmeister #3 of Virginia Tech after a short run during a game between Virginia Tech and North Carolina at Kenan Memorial Stadium on October 10, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

Eugene Asante

Heading into the Orange Bowl, there was a lot of talk about how the Tar Heels would fill the void of Chazz Surratt.

Let’s face it: It’s not easy to play without the player who has been considered the heart and soul of your defense for the past two seasons.

Although it isn’t easy to replace a player of Surratt’s caliber, Eugene Asante stepped up in a big way for the Tar Heels defense.

The sophomore tallied 10 total tackles (seven solo) and was very active on the defensive front. It was very often that the Alexandria, VA native was involved in the mix, and often times played a major role in the team’s defensive success.

We’ve heard the Tar Heels coaching staff rave about Asante, as he’s a smaller linebacker that has a lot of speed in his arsenal. If the Orange Bowl is any indication, we should expect big things from Asante moving forward.

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