Nick Gates Season 2017

Honors & Awards
» Outland Trophy Watch List (2017)
» Third-Team All-Big Ten (Media, 2016)
» Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches, 2016; Coaches & Media, 2017)
» Big Ten All-Freshman Team (BTN.com, ESPN.com)
» BTN All-Bowl Team (2015)
» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2015, 2017; Spring 2017)
» Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2016, 2017)
» Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017)

2017 Outlook
Nick Gates was a mainstay on the Husker offensive line for three seasons from 2015 to 2017, before electing to forego his senior season and move on to the National Football League. Gates began his career as the Huskers' starter at right tackle as a redshirt freshman, before setting in at left tackle.

Gates started 35 games in his Nebraska career, including 25 straight at left tackle over his final two seasons, marking the longest starting streak at left tackle for a Husker since 2001. Gates was a member of the Outland Trophy Watch List as a senior, and earned All-Big Ten honors each of his final two seasons in Lincoln. Gates' play throughout his Nebraska career helped the Huskers put up impressive offensive numbers, including record-setting passing and total offense numbers by Tommy Armstrong Jr., who Gates blocked for as a freshman and sophomore. 

2017 (Junior)
Gates started all 12 games at left tackle for the Husker offense. Gates was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice by both the league's coaches and media. Gates protected the blind side of quarterback Tanner Lee who threw for better than 3,100 yards and 23 touchdowns. The Husker passing game also produced two of the top receiving seasons in school history, with Stanley Morgan Jr. and JD Spielman, recording 986 and 830 receiving yards, respectively. 

2016 (Sophomore)
Gates held down the left tackle spot and was one of two offensive linemen to start all 13 games in 2016. He earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and was an honorable-mention pick by the coaches.

Gates led an offensive line that ranked first in the Big Ten in protecting the passer, allowing just 15 sacks on the season. The offensive line paved the way for Nebraska to top 550 yards of total offense against both Wyoming and Northwestern, while rushing for more than 200 yards four times on the season.

The play of the line also allowed senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. to become Nebraska’s all-time leader in passing yards, total offense and total touchdowns. Individually, Gates was named ProFootball.com’s top run-blocking offensive lineman in the country during Week 1.

2015 (Redshirt Freshman)
Gates was Nebraska’s regular starter at right tackle, helping the Huskers rank among the Big Ten leaders in scoring, passing and total offense. Gates started all 10 games he played, while missing three games at midseason with a high ankle sprain.

Gates’ play at right tackle was also critical to Nebraska providing strong pass protection throughout the year. The Husker offensive line gave up just 14 sacks in 13 games to rank ninth in the nation and second in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed. Gates helped power Nebraska to 326 rushing yards in the bowl victory over UCLA, earning him a spot on the BTN All-Bowl team.

2014 (Redshirt)
Gates redshirted and worked on the scout team offensive line.

Before Nebraska (Bishop Gorman HS)
Gates was a dominant force on the offensive line for Coach Tony Sanchez at Bishop Gorman High School, helping his team to three straight state titles. As a senior, Gates helped the offense average better than 275 yards per game en route to a 13-2 record and a Division I state championship. Gates also saw time on defense, recording 13 tackles, a tackle for loss, three breakups and a fumble recovery. Gates earned first-team All-Nevada honors from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and was an All-Southwest League pick.

Gates earned second-team all-state honors from the Review-Journal in 2012, helping Gorman to a 13-1 record, including a 63-10 victory in the state title game. Bishop Gorman was a perfect 16-0 in the 2011 season and averaged more than 280 rushing yards per game.

Gates was regarded as the top player in Nevada and one of the top 25 offensive tackles in the country. Gates also visited Texas A&M, and had offers from dozens of schools, including Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Duke, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington and Washington State. Gates was also a standout player for Bishop Gorman's state championship baseball team.

Personal
The son of Taylor and Sonya Gates, Nick was born on Nov. 27, 1995. He was a criminology and criminal justice major who earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 2019. He was a three-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. He has volunteered for community outreach work with Uplifting Athletes and local school and hospital visits. He was named to the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in both 2016 and 2017.

Career Statistics
Games Played--35 (10 in 2015, 13 in 2016, 12 in 2017)
Games Started--35 (10 in 2015, 13 in 2016, 12 in 2017)