Northeastern State University Athletics

NORTHEASTERN STATE – A returning letterwinner . . . has played and started 10 games at free safety at NSU . . . owns 82 career tackles as a member of the RiverHawks . . . also has two interceptions, two kick returns and one fumble recovery . . . has four career games with double-digit tackles, including a career-best 14 against Pittsburg State (Aug. 30, 2012) . . . was an All-MIAA honorable mention selection in 2012 . . . a highly sought-after recruit out of Waco HS that attended Oklahoma State for three years prior to transferring to Northeastern State.
 
Redshirt Junior (2012) – Returned to the field after missing two seasons and started all 10 games at free safety . . . finished the campaign second on the team with 82 tackles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions . . . named All-MIAA honorable mention . . . had two kick returns on the season for 14 yards, both coming against Northwest Missouri State . . . had INT’s against Central Missouri and Lincoln . . . registered a fumble recovery against Emporia State . . . posted a season-high 14 tackles in the season opener against Pittsburg State . . . also recorded 13 stops against Missouri Western, 12 tackles against Washburn and 10 against Lincoln . . . was 11th in the MIAA with 8.2 tackles per game.
 
Junior (2011) – Transferred to NSU and missed the season due to injury.
 
Oklahoma State University (2010) – Sat out the season with an injury and was awarded a medical redshirt.
 
Oklahoma State University (2009) – Started the first two games of the season against Georgia and Houston and saw action in every game in which he was healthy, except Rice . . . had 27 tackles in nine games, including nine tackles against Houston and five vs. Texas . . . also forced a fumble against the Longhorns . . . had three stops against Texas A&M and Baylor . . . averaged 18.1 yards on eight kickoff returns, including a 33-yarder vs. Missouri . . . had two returns for 40 yards against Texas A&M . . . missed the last three games of the season due to injury . . . named first-team academic All-Big 12.
 
Oklahoma State University (2008) – Began the season by not seeing any action in three of the first four games, but played in each of the final nine games as a safety and on special teams . . . recorded 19 tackles, including special teams . . . forced a fumble at Colorado and had a tackle behind the line of scrimmage at Texas . . . picked up his first three career tackles against Missouri State . . . also had three stops against Texas and Iowa State and two against Colorado, Missouri and Baylor . . . had four tackles in the bowl game against Oregon . . . emerged as a threat in the return game as well . . . returned a kick 52 yards at Texas and 39 yards at Colorado . . . also had a 28-yard return against Oklahoma . . . had three returns for 51 yards (including a 22-yarder) against Oregon.
 
High School – A highly sought-after safety prospect who was considered one of the top 20 in the country at his position by Rivals.com . . . that recruiting service also ranked him No. 40 among all prospects in Texas . . . a first-team selection to the Texas Football Magazine Super Team . . . an all-region selection by SuperPrep as the No. 31 player in Texas . . . Scout.com rated him No. 25 among America's safety prospects . . . among his suitors were Miami (Fla.), Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas Tech . . . district defensive MVP . . . Class 4A honorable mention all-state . . . Waco Herald Tribune Super Centex team member . . . senior season statistics included 65 tackles with nine behind the line of scrimmage . . . had seven interceptions in his high school career and caused four fumbles during his junior season to go along with 84 tackles . . . also participated in track.
 
Personal – Majoring in general studies . . . son of Demetria Degrate . . . born Dec. 8, 1989.