Notre Dame DT Commit Gabriel Rubio Is One Of The Nation's Best Big Men

One of Notre Dame's earliest commits in the 2021 class is Missouri defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio, who committed to the Irish in June of 2019. Rubio is also one of the best commits in the Fighting Irish class.

Rubio is a Top 100 caliber football player, and SI All-American ranks him as one of the nation's best big men. Rubio ranks as the seventh best defensive tackle in the country. No other scouting service has the Notre Dame commit ranked this high at his position, which speaks volumes of how high the staff at SI All-American is on Rubio.

Here is their analysis of the Fighting Irish commit:

"The future Notre Dame standout brings a lot to the table on tape, attacking backfields from multiple alignments with success. Rubio, who also starts along the offensive line at the varsity level, is most at home pushing from the interior with great size, length, polish and a high motor to boot. He uses his hands violently in diverse ways to make plays. He projects to be capable of playing 0, 1, 4i, and 5-technique on different fronts at the collegiate level, versatility that will likely help him see the field sooner rather than later in South Bend. Rubio can stunt and play outside as a pass rusher with success while possessing the wherewithal to motor down and redirect as needed versus the run or pass within his responsibility. While not the twitchiest prospect on the list, pushing the pocket with a deep set of moves including the power/bull rush, swipe, club-and-rip and swim technique at his size works well in any defensive front."

The versatility mentioned in this analysis by SI All-American's Edwin Weathersby II is part of the reason he is ranked so high, and another reason landing him was so important for Notre Dame. The Irish defense certainly has distinct positions, but when it puts versatile interior players on the field it gives defensive coordinator Clark Lea and position coach Mike Elston so much more flexibility.

That flexibility also makes it easier for Notre Dame to go with different matchups each week, depending on the opponents. With Notre Dame playing such a national schedule, having this kind of versatility makes the defense much more capable of matching up well against all the Power 5 leagues.

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Parler: @BryanDriskell
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter