A son follows his father's footsteps to the Pittsburgh Steelers as Notre Dame defensive end Gabriel Russo was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
Gabriel Rubio followed his father’s path Saturday when the Notre Dame defensive end was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round.
Building on his father's legacy, Angel Rubio became the Steelers’ seventh-round draft pick in 1998, following his college career as a defensive end at Southeast Missouri State. While his time with Pittsburgh didn't include a regular-season game, his NFL experience came in 1999, when he played two games with the Arizona Cardinals.
However, Gabriel Rubio’s NFL journey faced setbacks. Last season, his draft stock fell after missing the final six games with a left arm injury. Rubio started five of Notre Dame’s first six games, collecting 13 tackles (five solo), ½ tackle for loss, and one pass breakup. He tallied a season-high four tackles in the opener against Miami.
Rubio debuted for Notre Dame in 2021, appearing in one game and making one tackle in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State.
Over five seasons with the Fighting Irish, Rubio played in 39 games and started eight times. He finished his college career with 66 tackles (27 solos), seven tackles for loss, 1½ sacks, three passes defensed, and one forced fumble.
The 6-foot, 321-pounder, though lacking a lengthy college track record, still did enough to intrigue the Steelers.
"Just in terms of the size, the length, really just intriguing in terms of a big man up front," Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. "Really fits what we're trying to do. Does a good job of defeating blocks. Hard to single block. The way he plays, he plays football the right way, has the right demeanor. His ability to play the run and then transition on early down run, using his length.
"You can see there's a savviness about him. Any time you're talking about a stout, big, long man playing on the interior defensive line, I think that fits the mold of what we're looking for here with the Steelers."
Before joining Notre Dame, Rubio grew up in St. Louis and played high school football for Lutheran of St. Charles County. During his junior year in 2019, he led his team to the fourth round of the Missouri state playoffs, compiling 117 tackles, 46 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks. Rubio was considered a four-star recruit.
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