LINCOLN — Larry Asante doesn't have a short list of teams in mind, so it doesn't matter where the call comes from as long as it comes.

It's a healthy and open-minded attitude for the former Nebraska safety as the three-day NFL draft is set to begin Thursday night.

“I just want to get back to playing football again,” Asante said Tuesday. “All it takes is one team. I don't need 32 teams to like me.

“I'm just waiting for that one team, and then I'll try to show the others what they missed.”

Asante is looking beyond the fanfare that goes with the seven-round draft and its ESPN coverage. He plans to see what happens with former Husker teammate Ndamukong Suh on Thursday night, but he won't be watching the second and third rounds Friday night or the fourth and beyond Saturday.

And when his phone rings — likely somewhere in the middle rounds — Asante will savor the moment for only so long.

“The draft is only one part of it,” said Asante, who left Lincoln on Tuesday to return home to Alexandria, Va. “People talk about, ‘This guy's going to go here, here or here.' But you've got to put the pads on after it's over. When it's all said and done, you have to prove yourself all over again.

“I can't wait for rookie camp, wherever I land. I can't wait to go out and compete again.”

It's hard to gauge, but Asante thinks that the interest has been promising in recent weeks. His phone started ringing at 7 a.m. Tuesday and he'd already had a half-dozen calls by 9 a.m.

What's it all mean? That's not so clear.

“You never know,” Asante said. “It's a game going on right now. All it is right now is just a chess match.”

The 6-foot, 212-pounder does know this: He tested pretty well at the NFL Combine and NU pro day, showed teams good range in individual workouts and usually impressed people when they put him in front of a chalkboard.

“Bo (Pelini) taught me very, very well,” Asante said.

He also is coming off a senior season in which he made 79 tackles, forced two fumbles and intercepted two passes — and was named a first-team All-Big 12 pick by league coaches.

It's been an unusual journey for Asante, who was a prep star before having to go the junior college route and redshirting one of his two seasons at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. Before he could play two seasons under Pelini, Asante was among those who struggled in 2007 on one of the worst defenses in Husker history.

“It has been a roller coaster,” he said. “I've been there when it was good, and I've seen the bad, too.”

The majority of those who analyze the draft rank Asante somewhere between No. 6 and No. 10 among safeties. No matter where or when he goes, he thinks that he can be a bargain down the road.

His mom will be taking the call, though, because Larry will be off playing with his little brother and sister instead of putting himself through the emotional spin cycle.

“I've always watched the draft, but I guess when it's your turn, it changes the game,” Asante said. “There's no nerves when you're watching your friends. I'll maybe check out the earlier part and see where Suh lands, and after that leave it alone.”

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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