PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – His father was in the same draft class as Alan Faneca, Hines Ward, Deshea Townsend and a round after Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala. On Saturday afternoon, Gabriel Rubio joined his dad, Angel, as Steelers draft picks.
“He was ecstatic, he was so excited for me,” Rubio said of his father. “He was giving all the pointers to me about living in Pittsburgh.”
The 6’5”, 321-pound Notre Dame interior defensive lineman was the Steelers sixth round pick. They only had a pick in the sixth round due to an earlier trade down with Kansas City.
As for what he learned as a player from his father?
“Effort, persistence are all things that can be taught, but are great in value,” Rubio said. “One thing about my game I’ve always remembered from him is run to and through the pile, not just around it.”
The St. Louis native started five of the first six games for the Fighting Irish before an elbow injury ended his season. It was a broken elbow and torn UCL to which he had surgery. He said he is 100% with no issues. His junior season, started three of 11 games with 24 tackles and a sack against USC.
“The size, the length, really just intriguing in terms of a big man up front,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. “Really fits what we are trying to do, does a good job of defeating blocks. Hard to single block and plays football the right way.”
Recent sixth-round picks
- QB Will Howard (Ohio State)-2025
- DE Logan Lee (Iowa)-2024
- DB Ryan Watts (Texas)-2024
- TE Connor Heyward (Michigan State)-2022
- LB Quincy Roche (Miami)-2021
- S Antoine Brooks, Jr (Maryland)-2020
LISTEN as Notre Dame defensive lineman talks his game/Steelers
LISTEN as Notre Dame defensive lineman talks his game/Steelers
