Gates bringing mean streak with him to left side of the line

Mike Cavanaugh longed to reel in Nick Gates while recruiting him as a member of the Oregon State staff a few years back, but he knew it was a long shot at best. The No. 24 offensive tackle in the nation, Gates held offers from a host of high-profile programs, lincluding Oklahoma, Oregon, Alabama and Nebraska. Getting the Bishop Newman (Nev.) product to Corvallis was a pipe dream.

So imagine Cavanaugh's enthusiasm when Mike Riley brought him along to Nebraska last offseason, gifting him the player he'd sought after just a few years earlier.

“I was excited as hell to coach him," Cavanaugh said.

Gates hasn't disappointed Cavanaugh. After redshirting in 2014, he started every game when healthy at right tackle last season, earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors in the process.

But with Alex Lewis moving on, the Huskers are asking even more of Gates this season. Cavanaugh said Gates is his best tackle, so he's flipping the sophomore over to the left side, where he will face more speed rushers and will be tasked with protecting quarterback Tommy Armstrong's blindside.

“Every linemen wants to be the left tackle," Gates said. "That’s the second-best player on the field.”

Gates may be switching sides of the line, but his trademark demeanor won't be affected by the change. At 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, Gates isn't the most physically imposing lineman, and he doesn't possess elite athleticism.

But Gates brings a nasty nature that was ingrained in him by his brother, who is six years Gates' senior. Gates said his brother "beat toughness into me" as older brothers often do, leaving Gates with a mean streak that overcomes other players' advantage in size or athletic ability.

"That’s a little switch I turn on during practice," he said. "I’m not anybody’s friend out here. I’m out here to earn a job and not play two-hand touch with anybody.”

Gates' attitude is starting to rub off on some of the other linemen. Dylan Utter has always had a mean streak, but left guard Jerald Foster, who previously admitted his head wasn't in the right place last year, is practicing with an added edge this spring according to Cavanaugh.

Moving to the left side will be no picnic. Gates will now be matched up with team's best rushers more often, pairing him against the like of Wisconsin's Vince Biegel and Ohio State's Tyquan Lewis.

But the new challenges don't faze the sophomore. He knows he'll rarely be the most physically dominant player on the field, but his mindset won't let him use that as an excuse.

“I was never the biggest guy on the field or the heaviest guy on the field," Gates said. "So being aggressive and having that mean streak definitely gets your name out there and shows what you can do.”