| No. 69 | |||||||
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| Position | Nose tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1961-04-07)April 7, 1961 Crystal City, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | July 16, 2018(2018-07-16) (aged 57) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 293 lb (133 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Jefferson (San Antonio) | ||||||
| College | Texas Tech | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1983: 1st round, 21st overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Gabriel Rivera (April 7, 1961 – July 16, 2018), nicknamed "Señor Sack", was an American professionalfootball player who was anose tackle in theNational Football League (NFL). Rivera playedcollege football forTexas Tech Red Raiders, earning consensusAll-American honors in 1982. Rivera was a first-round pick in the1983 NFL draft by thePittsburgh Steelers.
Rivera attendedTexas Tech University, and played for theTexas Tech Red Raiders football team from 1979 to 1982. At 6'3" and 230 pounds, he was recruited as atight end andlinebacker before growing to between 270 and 300 pounds.[1] Despite his weight, Rivera was able to complete a40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds as anoseguard.[2] While at Texas Tech, he earned the nickname "Señor Sack".
Rivera finished his four-year career at Texas Tech with 321 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 11 pass deflections, and 6 fumble recoveries. His 1982 total of 105 tackles still holds the school record for most tackles by a defensive tackle.[3] Rivera garnered significant national attention following a 10–3 loss against the #1 ranked1982 Washington Huskies football team, in which he logged 10 tackles, 4 pass deflections, 4quarterback pressures, and a sack.[2]
In 1980, Rivera earned honorable-mention All-American honors as a sophomore. In 1982, he was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American as a senior defensivetackle. Additionally, Rivera was named theSouthwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and would later be named to the Southwest Conference All-Decade team.[2] He appeared in the 1982 Bob Hope Christmas Show and was introduced as an All American Defensive Lineman.
He was named to theNational Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame in May 2012.[2] He was named as the fourth member of Texas Tech's Ring of Honor on July 2, 2014, and had his name inscribed onJones AT&T Stadium along with fellow College Football Hall of Fame membersDonny Anderson,Dave Parks andE. J. Holub.[4]
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Rivera in the first round (21st pick overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft. Rivera's selection was notable because the Steelers decided to pass on hometown hero andUniversity of PittsburghquarterbackDan Marino as heir apparent toTerry Bradshaw. Instead, head coachChuck Noll chose to rebuild from the defensive side as the team had done a decade earlier with"Mean" Joe Greene. Rivera was considered to be one of the fastestdefensive linemen coming out of college.[5]
As the1983 season progressed, Rivera slowly began to come on, getting two sacks in his first six games played. But on October 20, 1983, Rivera was paralyzed in a car wreck.Driving while drunk, he crossed into another lane and collided with another vehicle.[6] The then 22-year-old was treated for head, neck, chest and abdominal injuries, as well as significant memory loss. The crash occurred at 9:00 p.m. inRoss Township, a northern suburb ofPittsburgh.
Rivera had three wives, Kimberly, whom he met at Texas Tech, they had a son Timothy; Carmen, whom he met during physical therapy; and Nancy, whom he met at the zoo, Gabriel adopted both of her daughters, Raenelda and Myste. Gabriel and Nancy were married from 1999 until his death in 2018. Gabriel also had 4 grandchildren, Hailey, Allen, Esben and Nathaniel.For the last 19 years of his life Gabriel was a volunteer at Inner City Development Center in San Antonio, Tx. While there he tutored and mentored at risk youth in the 78207 community which is also known as the Barrio.
He died on July 16, 2018, from complications related to a perforated bowel.[7]