This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #97 Gabe Rubio, Defensive Tackle

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will, once again, take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2021 season.

#97 Gabe Rubio, DT

Mr. Gabe Rubio is a freshman who come from St. Louis. He was an early enrollee, so he was involved in spring practice this past spring. Unfortunately, he was dealing with a hyper-extended elbow toward the end of spring practice. It seemed like he was doing pretty well and catching Mike Elston’s eye on the defensive line.

Gabe Rubio Instagram

Gabe was recruited as a 4-star, which was a huge pickup for Brian Kelly and Mike Elston. He also committed in May/June of 2019, which is pretty early for a commitment. It was awesome to see because he fell in love with Notre Dame. Rubio wanted a strong culture with equally strong academics. He had his mind made up, and he didn’t ever further his recruiting process or fish for other offers. You have to love getting a guy like that to come play for your team.

Restaurant That Fits

Pappy’s Smokehouse

Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Pappy’s Smokehouse in St. Louis is apparently a strong staple for St. Louis ribs and BBQ. Gabe Rubio is from St. Louis, and as a defensive lineman, I’m sure he could get through a decent amount ribs. I would especially think that if the ribs are so highly acclaimed as they are at Pappy’s.

2021 Outlook

As mentioned above, Gabe Rubio started this spring. However, as the very fresh player on the defensive line, it might take a little bit of time before he can make any significant impact. Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa are the true veterans on the team at the DT position with Jayson Ademilola up there as well. Again, Gabe seemed to impress in spring ball, but he might need to buy his time a little bit.