Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman reveals DL Gabriel Rubio suffered an injury against Navy
During his weekly news conference Monday, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said unpromoted that junior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio will be out “a couple of weeks” with a knee injury suffered during Saturday’s 42-3 win against Navy.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but Gabe Rubio will be out a couple of weeks,” Freeman told reporters from the Notre Dame Stadium press room. “Just a knee injury. He’s got to get a couple of things fixed in his knee. But he’ll be out a couple of weeks.”
Freeman also said that Notre Dame did not have any other injuries to report following the program’s Week 0 win.
Rubio, who played in his 12th game for the Irish last week, had one tackle in the victory. He played 19 snaps and also recorded two quarterback hurries, one of which led to a sack for sophomore Vyper Joshua Burnham. Rubio’s tackle came after a 7-yard rush by Alex Tecza.
According to Pro Football Focus, Rubio also had a missed tackle against Navy. His Pro Football Focus 59.0 defensive grade ranked 17th out of 24 defensive participants. His 22.2 tackling grade was last among the 22 players graded.
The Notre Dame depth chart lists Rubio as the second-team defensive tackle behind Howard Cross III. Cross was tied for fourth on the team with four tackles against Navy. Sophomore Donovan Hinish and junior Jason Onye also saw reps at defensive tackle last Saturday.
The Irish take on Tennessee State on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium at 3:30 p.m. EDT. After that, they will face North Carolina State (away), Central Michigan (home), Ohio State (home), Duke (away), Louisville (away) and Southern California (home) the next seven Saturdays before hitting the bye week.
Background on Rubio’s Notre Dame career
The 6-foot-5 1/4, 306-pound Rubio signed with the Notre Dame football program out of Saint Peters (Mo.) Lutheran of St. Charles County in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He finished as the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 120 overall player, No. 15 defensive lineman and No. 2 prospect in Missouri in his class.
As a freshman, Rubio made his Notre Dame debut against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022, and had a tackle. Last season, he played 10 games and had 17 total tackles, six of which were solo. He also recorded four tackles for loss.
His career-best game featured seven tackles against Stanford on Oct. 15. He also added a half tackle for loss in that outing.
