Billy Legate Season 1997

Honors & Awards

• University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 1999)
• Member of Three Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995, 1997)
• Two-Time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America Nominee (1997, 1998)
• Three-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (1996, 1997, 1998)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Semester Academic Honor Roll (1997)
• Phillips 66 Big Eight End-of-the-Year Academic Honor Roll (1995)

Career

Billy Legate appeared in 44 games (including bowls) throughout his collegiate career. He carried the ball 25 times and gained 131 yards, an average of 5.2 yards a carry, and recorded one touchdown. He also finished with 21 tackles (five solo) on special teams. Legate graduated as a member of all three Nebraska national championship teams of the 1990's.

1998 (Senior)

Legate backed up fellow senior Joel Makovicka at fullback for the second consecutive year. Legate appeared in 11 games as a senior and carried the ball five times for 28 yards. His lone touchdown coming against Kansas on a six-yard run. Legate's longest run of the season came against Kansas State when he picked up 11 yards. He was also on NU's special return teams and recorded three tackles (one solo). In the 1998 Holiday Bowl against Arizona, Legate recorded an additional three solo tackles on special teams. He also forced a fumble and recovered another one.

1997 (Junior)

Earning a scholarship before the start of the season, Legate was the Huskers' No. 2 fullback behind Makovicka and was on NU's No. 1 kickoff coverage, the punting and the kickoff return teams. Legated played in all 12 games, rushing 12 times for 74 yards. He did not have any lost yardage, and had a career-best 14 yards against Akron (career-high three carries) and Baylor (career-long 14-yard run). He was Nebraska's leader on special teams with six tackles (one solo) and caught two passes for 18 yards, including a career-best 15 yarder against Akron. Although he did not have any rushes, Legate had one solo tackle in the 1998 Orange Bowl against Tennessee.

1996 (Sophomore)

Legate played a key role for Nebraska, despite a nagging hamstring injury that kept him out of three games in midseason (Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas) and the Iowa State game. He was the No. 3 fullback behind Brian Schuster and Makovicka, and the headhunter on kickoffs. Legate was the leader in tackles for an offensive player on special teams with five stops (one solo). He rushed three times for eight yards (all against Colorado State), with his longest gain being five yards. He also caught one pass for nine yards against the Colorado State Rams. Legate played in the FedEx Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech, but did not have any carries or tackles. As the upback, he did have one kickoff return for 18 yards, a career first.

1995 (Freshman)

Legate quickly earned a reputation in 1995 as one of Nebraska's best special teams members. He led the team with seven special teams tackles (two solo), including a career-best three against Colorado. As a fullback, Legate carried five times for 21 yards with a long of seven yards against Iowa State. He had three carries for nine yards against Pacific and two rushes for 12 yards (season best) against Iowa State, after not playing in the first two games. Legate played in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and had one carry for one yard against No. 2 Florida.

1994 (Redshirt)

A walk-on athlete, Legate redshirted his first year in Lincoln.

Clearwater High School

Legate twice earned all-state honors from the Lincoln Journal Star, as a junior running back in 1992, and as a linebacker in 1993. Legate rushed for 1,807 yards as a junior and tallied 1,693 yards in his senior campaign for Coach Rod Brummels at Clearwater.

Personal

The son of Bill and Barb Legate, Billy was born on Dec. 6, 1975. Billy earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 1999.

Legate's Career Statistics

Rushing
Year	G/S	Att.	Yds.	Y/C	Y/G	TDs
1994	Redshirted
1995	9/0	5	21	4.2	2.7	0
1996	8/0	3	8	2.7	1.0	0
1997	12/0	12	74	6.2	6.2	0
1998	11/0	5	28	5.6	2.5	1
Totals	40/0	25	131	5.2	3.3	1

Catches: 2-18 in 1997
Tackles: 2 UT, 5 AT, 7 TT in 1995; 1 UT, 4 AT, 5 TT in 1996; 1 UT, 5 AT, 6 TT in 1997; 1 UT, 2 AT, 3 TT in 1998 (21 total)

Bowl Stats

1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Rushing 1-1
1996 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech: Kickoff Returns 1-18
1998 Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee: Tackles 1 UT, 0 AT, 1 TT
1998 Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona: Tackles 3 UT, 0 AT, 3 TT: 1 Forced Fumble; 1 Fumble Recovery