Needing to create a do-it-yourself workout from home, Gabriel Rubio turned to his dad’s supplies.
The son of former NFL defensive lineman and current firefighter Angel Rubio, Gabriel found an unmoored fire hydrant, set it in his driveway, bent his waist and lifted it up and down — a crude but effective bench pull. Rubio’s creativity in a bizarre time earned some deserved appreciation when the video circulated on Twitter.
This impromptu exercise was also the latest of many assists from Angel, who has coached and developed Gabriel since the younger Rubio first tried flag football at age 5. Currently, Angel is the defensive line coach at St. Peters (Mo.) Lutheran of St. Charles in the St. Louis area, where Gabriel plays.
For nearly 10 years, their ability to lock in to a player-coach relationship on the field and stay dad-son off of it has fueled Gabriel’s rise to top-100 player and Notre Dame commitment. The key to a harmonious blend, Angel said, is trust and credibility that go both ways, but especially from the son.
“It’s really whether a kid can learn from the parent as a coach,” Angel told BlueandGold.com. “What has made it effective with him was his willingness to believe he can learn from me.”
Added Gabriel: “When it comes to football season, it’s never, ‘Hey dad.’”
Angel, of course, has a built-in advantage that fuels credibility. He was a seventh-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998 and spent two years in the NFL, bouncing around between five teams before carving out a five-year career in the old XFL and Arena Football League.
Angel entered the pros after a standout career at Southeast Missouri State of the Football Championship Subdivision, where he set career sack and tackles for loss records. He is in the school’s Hall of Fame. Gabriel appreciated the pedigree, he never reached the point of being starstruck.
“Even to this day I don’t think he brings up my history,” Angel said.
The desire to be like dad was an early motivator to excel in football as a grade schooler, but not a theme that shows up now. Gabriel is here to write his own story and make his own decisions. After gaining requisite passion for the game, though, he figured out his ideal teacher was already in his house.
Angel was head coach of Gabriel’s flag football team, then an assistant for his junior high team and eventually Gabriel’s middle school head coach before taking a season off when Gabriel was in eighth grade. Angel hammered home his first major teaching points: coaching aggression.
“I’ve always felt because of his good nature, he was over the top nice to everyone,” Angel said. “We had to work on having that attitude in the older ages. Once you hit junior high, kids start to form their own personalities.”
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All the while, Angel tutored him in technique and pass rush moves, leaning on his own expertise. Mastering the footwork, angles, hand placement and gaining strength was one part, but putting Gabriel in an environment where he would learn when to use certain moves, when to take a risk or rely on instinct were important lessons as well.
“A lot of times, kids are afraid to make decisions and play outside the box because they’ve been taught, ‘This is how you go in a stance; this is how you do this,’” Angel said. “Instead of taking risks, you’re afraid to fail, and there’s a lot of growth in that.”
When Gabriel’s skill level and size advantage became apparent as he reached high school, Angel sent him to a local training facility frequented by some of the St. Louis area’s best football players. Gabriel wanted to go one-on-one against the best possible competition, but it served as an opportunity for Angel to affirm his ability as a coach and ensure his instruction was up to date.
Before any head-to-head reps, every participant went through an hour-plus of technique work and training each time. Gabriel said it was different. Useful, but not quite like Angel taught.
“That told me that what I was doing was right,” Angel said.
Said Gabriel: “He has so much experience, and he can see every little small thing that I can do better.”
The next step was putting Gabriel’s name on college coaches’ radars, and one of the early steps in it is attending camps. Notre Dame first saw him at one. They invited him to their own camp, where he stood out. Defensive line coach Mike Elston took the lead in the recruitment.
A Notre Dame offer finally came last spring, well after he had established himself as a Power Five prospect. When it did, the process was essentially over. Angel knew it. He stood back.
“It wasn’t my recruitment,” Angel said. “I really allowed Gabriel to take the forefront and make the decision on where he wanted to go.”
The 2020 season will be the Rubios’ last juggling their two differing roles. When Gabriel enrolls at Notre Dame, Angel can fully concentrate on being dad. Senior year can be all about a championship run and fine-tuning before college. There can be no lapse in technique or conditioning, so the fire hydrant may be Gabriel’s to use for a while. In Angel’s view, though, one of his son’s best and most enviable qualities is one that tends to last.
“He has something I didn’t have,” Angel said. “I was so wrapped up in whether a coach thought I played well or if my dad thought I played well. Gabriel doesn’t think along those lines. He goes and plays to perform regardless.
“I used to get nervous in big-time games and against big-name people. Sometimes I would rise to the occasion, others I’d fall flat. With Gabriel, I’ve never seen him nervous to go against top competition. He wants it and expects that he will perform well.”
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