State championships, a national championship, legendary coaches like Richard Dullaghan and many, many great players.
When it’s all said and done, linebacker Asmar Bilal will be considered one of the all-time Ben Davis greats. He’ll play his last high school football game in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 3.
“Just crazy,” Bilal said, a loss for words. “I don’t even know. It’s just a great feeling.”
Rated by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 3 inside linebacker, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Bilal is the fourth U.S. Army All-American from Ben Davis. He joins James Banks who went on to play at Tennessee, MarQueis Gray who suited up at Minnesota and Antonio Allen, who will be a sophomore this fall at Indiana.
Over 40,000 fans have attended the U.S. Army All-American Bowl the last three years in San Antonio, Texas. Over 200 players that have played in the game are currently playing in the NFL, including the likes of Adrian Peterson, Andrew Luck, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Patrick Peterson and Ndamukong Suh.
The game is broadcasted on national television every year on NBC.
“When folks turn it on, they’re going to see a kid that’s not only a good football player, but a good student and good person,” Ben Davis head coach Mike Kirschner said. “An academic kid, a guy concerned with the whole picture not just football. He’s ranked 75th in his class out of 1,000. They’re getting a complete kid.”
Bilal is currently considering scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
“As a player, the biggest thing is his knowledge of the game,” Kirschner said. “At first he always relied on being a little bigger, faster and stronger, but now, a smart kid, he now understands what’s going on, he knows our schemes better, his overall football IQ has gone up immeasurably the last few years.”
As a junior, Bilal led one of the state’s top defenses with 106 tackles.
“His ability to react quickly,” Kirschner said. “There is not a whole lot of delay in what he sees. He doesn’t need a second to digest. He sees things quick and goes quick.”
This final year of high school football will go quick. Bilal and his teammates have big plans for the fall, and before he knows it he’ll be in Texas representing his school, program and community as a U.S. Army All-American.
“I’m looking forward to the experience and just being able to play with the best of the best from around the country,” Bilal said.
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