His mother, Judy, is African American; his father, Berhe Asfaha, emigrated from the Province of Eritrea in Ethiopia in 1970.

[4] Berhe ultimately signed his letter of intent and joined the San Diego State Aztecs football program; he received a redshirt designation his freshman year in 2009.

[3] Later that year against the New Mexico State Aggies, he had seven tackles (1 for a loss), and a fumble recovery on special teams that set up a touchdown for the Aztecs.

[3] Later in the year, in a game against San Jose State, he returned a blocked kick 56 yards in the fourth quarter.

[5] He also said that Berhe "[p]lays a bit out of control and will miss some tackles in the open field", and that he also lacks special-teams experience.

[5] Dane Brugler of CBS Sports also complimented Berhe's speed, adding that he has great vision and "active hands to initiate contact and fight through blocks", with a "football character and competitive drive desired by NFL teams".

[10] He also believed that Berhe would be "out-muscled at times" by larger wide receivers, and "will get flagged for downfield contact and needs to improve his discipline".

[10] The New York Giants selected Berhe in the fifth round with the 152nd overall pick,[11] making him the first Eritrean-American player to be drafted into the NFL.

[15] He had missed most of training camp due to a calf injury that required surgery to remove a blood clot.

[17] He is the first player with Eritrean descent (through his father) drafted into the NFL,[18] and is also the cousin of former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith.