Notre Dame loses veteran D-lineman on first day of fall camp due to injury
Notre Dame football’s depth on the defensive line became a bit more shallow on Wednesday. On Thursday, before fall camp practice No. 2, the program’s football communications team announced that junior Gabriel Rubio fractured the second metatarsal in his foot during the first day of fall camp.
According to the communications team, Dr. Thomas Bemenderfer performed a successful surgery. They expect Rubio to return this season.
Rubio’s injury is the second notable one to occur this summer. On Wednesday, coach Marcus Freeman announced that sophomore linebacker Kahanu Kia suffered a torn ACL in the offseason. Kia, like Rubio, a 2021 class recruit, returned to the team in January after serving a two-year church mission.
Rubio did not participate in spring ball as he dealt with personal matters. Wednesday marked his first time in an official practice capacity since the conclusion of the 2023 season.
The Irish did not have Rubio at full strength last season, either.
The 6-foot-5¼, 306-pound only appeared in nine games for the Irish in 2023. In those outings, he registered 11 tackles (9 solo), 5 quarterback hurries, 1 pass broken up and 1 forced fumble.
Rubio missed games against Tennessee State (Sept. 2), North Carolina State (Sept. 9) and Central Michigan (Sept. 16) due to a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. He sustained it in Week 0 during Notre Dame’s 42-3 victory against Navy.
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Rubio also missed Notre Dame’s Week 6 game against Lousiville on Oct. 7. Freeman never revealed if Rubio’s unavailability was due to his knee injury earlier in the season.
Although Rubio’s injury leaves Al Washington‘s unit short of veteran experience behind Howard Cross III, the Irish have multiple young bucks ready to break through at nose tackle. On Wednesday, junior Donovan Hinish and sophomore Armel Mukam also saw snaps at the position. Freshman Sean Sevillano Jr., who enrolled in January, is also listed on the depth chart.
Rubio totaled 136 defensive snaps for the Irish in 2023. His heaviest workload came against Southern California Oct. 14 (23 snaps) and Stanford Nov. 25 (24 snaps). He had a season-high 3 tackles and a forced fumble against Clemson Nov. 4.
Before the 2023 season, Rubio played in 12 games as a sophomore. He recorded 17 tackles (6 solo) and 4 stops for loss in his second season with the team. Rubio redshirted during his freshman season in 2021. He made his collegiate debut in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State on Jan. 1, 2022.
