Eugene Asante arrived at SEC Media Days wearing a blue-and-white suit filled with patterns, a nod to his parents' home country of Ghana. The Auburn linebacker was one of three representatives chosen by Hugh Freeze to travel to Dallas to discuss the 2024 season, their expectations and how the Tigers can start rebuilding a program that was in shambles just two seasons ago.

Asante, as always, had a big smile on his face. With the lights on and his turn to sit at the podium, he was asked about the voodoo at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the talented wide receivers in this year's signing class and, of course, about his motto, "Let's Work!"

It was a day that Asante was seemingly built and destined for. But to know where he was last Thursday and the accolades he's received during the past year, you have to go back to when he almost called it a day on his football career.

"I remember wanting to call my coach," Asante said. "I actually called a coach on my previous staff at North Carolina. I was, like, 'Hey, man, Coach, can I become a GA for you? Can I do something in terms of football because I don't know if this playing thing is going to work out for me.'"

Under Bryan Harsin, Asante was persona non grata. After appearing in 12 games for the Tar Heels in 2021 and transferring to Auburn, the Alexandria, Va., native saw action in just four games in 2022. In fact, it was the first four games of the season, and Asante wasn't sure what the future held for him.

That's when he swallowed his pride and did something that would change his fortune.

"There were so many things that were going through my mind," Asante said. {As a player, my confidence was shot. Just not being able to get onto the field and going to have a conversation with my coach at the time about me playing on scout team, and it was just so much."

Yes, last year's leading tackler for Auburn was serving as practice fodder for the regulars during the 2022 season. As he explained, there were times he was ready to quit. A former 4-star recruit couldn't find his way on the field, and his collegiate dreams were going off the rails.

Enter Freeze and a new coaching staff.

A full review of Auburn's roster was done, and with players coming in and out via the transfer portal, keeping up with who was on the team took an Excel spreadsheet. Asante saw his chance of playing on Saturdays and being a force on the field open up again.

He wasn't going to waste this opportunity.

"It was just a process where I wanted to prove to my coaches that they can trust me to be out on the field," Asante said. "That really started with my day-to-day process and how I carried myself in my life.

"The coaches have to trust that you're going to make the right decision off the field in order to trust you on the field. I wanted to be a person that is a reliable person in terms of preparation, in terms of everything I do through my day-to-day life, and then that football piece came in in terms of understanding what I had to do on the field and going full force on the field, being somebody that was relentless in terms of his effort and the way he played the game."

There's no coincidence it was his first start since being demoted to the scout team a year earlier.

"I was playing week one against UMass last season, and they gave me an opportunity to start in that night game at Cal we had, and just coming into halftime at that game and to just seeing them say, 'Eugene, you guys are doing well, continue to do what you are doing,' and just having them in my corner, just breathing life into us and telling us that we're doing a good job allowed me and propelled me to play that game the way I did," he said.

It was all Asante needed as fuel to the fire. For his efforts against the Golden Bears, he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, and he never looked back. He finished the season with 86 total tackles and was named to two All-SEC teams.

Now, he is one of the voices and leaders of a program where he hit the lowest point of his college career, and he couldn't be more honored to represent the Tigers, the coaching staff and teammates at media days.

I'm just so grateful to Coach Freeze and his staff for coming in and giving me confidence," Asante said. "They don't know that they changed my life truly in giving me that chance. I'm forever indebted to them, and I'm going to continue to try to make them so proud in whatever I do."