Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Scouting the Roster: Asmar Bilal
July 18, 2017
5,079
Player name: Asmar Bilal
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 229
Player position: Linebacker
Years of eligibility left: 3
Projected rank on the depth chart: Backup at Rover
Player productivity so far:
2016: 28 tackles 3 TFL 1 sack
What player does best: There isn’t a better athlete at linebacker on this roster than Bilal. He is in contention for the best pound for pound athlete on the team. He can run with skill positions players much smaller than him and has sideline to sideline ability as a hit and run player.
That speed also helps him as a blitzer as well where he can close in a hurry when shooting a gap or coming off the edge.
Bilal is a sure tackler from what we have seen from his limited reps from last season and in practice. He can bring the wood and deliver punishing hits as well. After the work he has put in the weight room to go along with his natural athletic ability, he is up there as one of the most physically gifted defenders on the team.
What player needs to work on: For all of that raw talent he has with his physical tools, he still has a long way to go with the finer details of the game. Last season at Will he was clearly behind Greer Martini and Te’Von Coney when it came to working through trash to find the football. He was slow to recognize blocks and would get caught out of position at times because of it.
Although he can run with players in coverage, he often looks lost when in space. As a Rover coverage is such huge part of the position and while he could be better than Drue Tranquill based on physical ability, he isn’t better based on his current football intelligence.
He’s not a naturally instinctive football player. He didn’t show that on film in high school and hasn’t shown that so far at Notre Dame. He needs to work to improve his recognition skills versus both the run and pass.
Productivity of former ND players and other comparable players in the nation at his position:
In addition to James Onwualu, I included some stats from other top players who played the space backer/Rover type of role for their schools last season. I also included Demetrius Kemp, the backup Rover at Wake Forest, who saw the field quite a bit for them last fall.
Onwualu 2016: 77 tackles 11.5 TFL 3 sacks 5 PBU 3 forced fumbles
Onwualu 2015: 38 tackles 6 TFL 3 sacks 2 PBU 1 forced fumble
Steven Taylor Houston: 74 tackles 12 TFL 8.5 sacks 3 PBU 1 INT 2 forced fumbles
Matt Milano Boston College: 58 tackles 11 TFL 6.5 sacks 2 PBU 1 INT 1 blocked kick
Jabrill Peppers Michigan: 71 tackles 15 TFL 3.5 sacks 0 PBU 1 INT
Chris Worley Ohio State: 69 tackles 4.5 TFL 4 PBU 1 INT 1 forced fumble
Thomas Brown Wake Forest: 65 tackles 8.5 TFL 4 sacks 4 PBU 2 forced fumbles
Demetrius Kemp Wake Forest: 31 tackles 4 TFL 1 sack 1 PBU 1 QB hurry
What can we hope for? We can hope that Bilal takes a big step in his second year on the field, third season overall, at Notre Dame. If the mental and instinctual part of the game catches up to his physical skill set, he could have massive year. If that happens then it will force Mike Elko to play him a lot this season.
His pass rush potential is untapped right now, but he could offer a different look off the edge to pair opposite Daelin Hayes in some passing situations.
I think the biggest thing to hope for with Bilal is that he makes progress to show he is becoming a great football player rather than a great athlete that plays football. He has unique talent that could fit on any roster in America and could be capable of converting that talent in several splash plays.
What is a realistic expectation? It’s tough to say what’s realistic with him until we see where he is at in fall camp because he looked there was a lot separating him from being a starter when compared with how Tranquill looked at Rover. I’m not even sure Bilal’s best position is Rover, but he also didn’t look comfortable playing as an inside linebacker at Will (now Buck) last season.
Based on the lack of other options at Rover, I think it is likely that Bilal will get opportunities there. I expect we’ll see more flashes of that athleticism when he he is put in a position to win as a blitzer. I would not be at all surprised to see Bilal make a highlight reel play this season doing that. I think he can show signs of improvement to set himself to play a much bigger role in the defense late in the year, but might find it hard to see a lot of snaps in September.
What about the future? Things should open up in a good way for Bilal in 2018 with Greer Martini and Nyles Morgan both graduating. It’s assumed that Te’Von Coney will take one of those inside linebacker spots, but that other one will be up for grabs. It may be an opportunity for Bilal to shift back inside if Tranquill comes back for a fifth year at Rover.
Even if that doesn’t happen, it would be nice to see Bilal push Tranquill for playing time. No one on the roster is closer to Jaylon Smith was in terms of raw athleticism than Bilal, but Smith was far more advanced in terms of instincts. He put his superior athleticism to good use and it made him a special football player for the Irish. Bilal hasn’t come anywhere close to that level yet and he may never get there.
Will we see that this year? This season is big for him to show that he has an NFL future, even if he never starts a game. There needs to be at least glimpses that he is taking steps to emerge as a starter and standout player. If that happens, then he very well could be a huge part of the defense in 2018 and 2019.
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 229
Player position: Linebacker
Years of eligibility left: 3
Projected rank on the depth chart: Backup at Rover
Player productivity so far:
2016: 28 tackles 3 TFL 1 sack
What player does best: There isn’t a better athlete at linebacker on this roster than Bilal. He is in contention for the best pound for pound athlete on the team. He can run with skill positions players much smaller than him and has sideline to sideline ability as a hit and run player.
That speed also helps him as a blitzer as well where he can close in a hurry when shooting a gap or coming off the edge.
Bilal is a sure tackler from what we have seen from his limited reps from last season and in practice. He can bring the wood and deliver punishing hits as well. After the work he has put in the weight room to go along with his natural athletic ability, he is up there as one of the most physically gifted defenders on the team.
What player needs to work on: For all of that raw talent he has with his physical tools, he still has a long way to go with the finer details of the game. Last season at Will he was clearly behind Greer Martini and Te’Von Coney when it came to working through trash to find the football. He was slow to recognize blocks and would get caught out of position at times because of it.
Although he can run with players in coverage, he often looks lost when in space. As a Rover coverage is such huge part of the position and while he could be better than Drue Tranquill based on physical ability, he isn’t better based on his current football intelligence.
He’s not a naturally instinctive football player. He didn’t show that on film in high school and hasn’t shown that so far at Notre Dame. He needs to work to improve his recognition skills versus both the run and pass.
Productivity of former ND players and other comparable players in the nation at his position:
In addition to James Onwualu, I included some stats from other top players who played the space backer/Rover type of role for their schools last season. I also included Demetrius Kemp, the backup Rover at Wake Forest, who saw the field quite a bit for them last fall.
Onwualu 2016: 77 tackles 11.5 TFL 3 sacks 5 PBU 3 forced fumbles
Onwualu 2015: 38 tackles 6 TFL 3 sacks 2 PBU 1 forced fumble
Steven Taylor Houston: 74 tackles 12 TFL 8.5 sacks 3 PBU 1 INT 2 forced fumbles
Matt Milano Boston College: 58 tackles 11 TFL 6.5 sacks 2 PBU 1 INT 1 blocked kick
Jabrill Peppers Michigan: 71 tackles 15 TFL 3.5 sacks 0 PBU 1 INT
Chris Worley Ohio State: 69 tackles 4.5 TFL 4 PBU 1 INT 1 forced fumble
Thomas Brown Wake Forest: 65 tackles 8.5 TFL 4 sacks 4 PBU 2 forced fumbles
Demetrius Kemp Wake Forest: 31 tackles 4 TFL 1 sack 1 PBU 1 QB hurry
What can we hope for? We can hope that Bilal takes a big step in his second year on the field, third season overall, at Notre Dame. If the mental and instinctual part of the game catches up to his physical skill set, he could have massive year. If that happens then it will force Mike Elko to play him a lot this season.
His pass rush potential is untapped right now, but he could offer a different look off the edge to pair opposite Daelin Hayes in some passing situations.
I think the biggest thing to hope for with Bilal is that he makes progress to show he is becoming a great football player rather than a great athlete that plays football. He has unique talent that could fit on any roster in America and could be capable of converting that talent in several splash plays.
What is a realistic expectation? It’s tough to say what’s realistic with him until we see where he is at in fall camp because he looked there was a lot separating him from being a starter when compared with how Tranquill looked at Rover. I’m not even sure Bilal’s best position is Rover, but he also didn’t look comfortable playing as an inside linebacker at Will (now Buck) last season.
Based on the lack of other options at Rover, I think it is likely that Bilal will get opportunities there. I expect we’ll see more flashes of that athleticism when he he is put in a position to win as a blitzer. I would not be at all surprised to see Bilal make a highlight reel play this season doing that. I think he can show signs of improvement to set himself to play a much bigger role in the defense late in the year, but might find it hard to see a lot of snaps in September.
What about the future? Things should open up in a good way for Bilal in 2018 with Greer Martini and Nyles Morgan both graduating. It’s assumed that Te’Von Coney will take one of those inside linebacker spots, but that other one will be up for grabs. It may be an opportunity for Bilal to shift back inside if Tranquill comes back for a fifth year at Rover.
Even if that doesn’t happen, it would be nice to see Bilal push Tranquill for playing time. No one on the roster is closer to Jaylon Smith was in terms of raw athleticism than Bilal, but Smith was far more advanced in terms of instincts. He put his superior athleticism to good use and it made him a special football player for the Irish. Bilal hasn’t come anywhere close to that level yet and he may never get there.
Will we see that this year? This season is big for him to show that he has an NFL future, even if he never starts a game. There needs to be at least glimpses that he is taking steps to emerge as a starter and standout player. If that happens, then he very well could be a huge part of the defense in 2018 and 2019.
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