Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2020 31 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 (he is now 6-5 and 290 pounds) 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 abil- ity as a coach and ensure his instruction was up to date. Before any head-to- head reps, every partici- pant went through an hour- plus of technique work and training each time. Gabriel said it was different. Use- ful, but not quite like Angel taught. "That told me that what I was doing was right," An- gel said. Said Gabriel: "He has so much experience, and he can see every little small thing that I can do better." NAVIGATING THE RECRUITING TRAIL The next step was putting Gabriel's name on college coaches' radars, and one of the best ways to do that is attending camps, which he did en masse in between his freshman and sopho- more year. Notre Dame first saw him at one. The Irish staff then invited him to their own camp, where he stood out. Defensive line coach Mike Elston took the lead in the recruitment and formed the relationship but held off on extending an of- fer for a while. Meanwhile, Rubio collected ten- ders from Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Ne- braska, Kentucky and Texas A&M, among others. His unofficial visits in- cluded Notre Dame, Kentucky, Iowa and Nebraska, with others planned. All of those became secondary thoughts when Notre Dame finally offered last May. When Elston called with the news, Gabriel's recruiting 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. I'd ask him pertinent questions to get him to think, like what he thought about this facility, this coach, did he do any research on what type of de- fensive front they run before we go so you can ask questions." Angel even gave his son the final words of encourage- ment needed to make the decision after Elston called to extend the offer. "He told me it was everything he wanted," Angel said. "I had to ask him, 'If this is everything you wanted, you're comparing every visit and coach you see and meet to Notre Dame, then what's your question? Are you afraid to commit? He said he's not. So that's when he made the decision." LAST HURRAH The 2020 season will be Angel's last juggling his two different roles. When Gabriel enrolls at Notre Dame, Angel can fully con- centrate on being a dad. Se- nior 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. Ga- briel 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. Some- times I would rise to the oc- casion, 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." ✦ Gabriel Rubio — Rivals' No. 2 player in Missouri, and No. 8 defensive tackle and No. 99 overall prospect nationally — collected offers from the likes of Ohio State, Georgia and LSU, but was destined to pledge to Notre Dame once he was offered last May. PHOTO COURTESY ST. CHARLES LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL "It's really whether a kid can learn from the parent as a coach. What has made it effective with him was his willingness to believe he can learn from me." ANGEL RUBIO ON COACHING HIS SON