Mark Rubin

Mark Rubin
Position(s)
Safety
Jersey #(s)
33
Born October 24, 1985 (1985-10-24) (age 26)
Amherst, New York
Career information
Year(s) 20092009
Undrafted in 2009
College Penn State
Professional teams
Career stats
Tackles -
Interceptions -
Touchdowns -
Career highlights and awards
  • First Team Academic All-American (2008)
  • National Defensive Player of the Week (2008)
  • Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (2008)

Mark Harrison Rubin (born October 24, 1985) is a former American football safety of the National Football League. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Penn State.

Contents

Early years

Rubin was born in Buffalo, New York. A four-year starter at wide receiver and safety at Amherst High School in Amherst, New York, Rubin finished his high school career as the holder of three NYSPHSAA Western New York Section records: receptions (167), receiving yardage (2,488), and touchdowns (34). He was a three-time all-state pick, a three-time All-Western New York selection and was a two-time Section VI Class A Offensive Player-of-the-Year. He was a two-year captain of the football team.[1]

Rubin was also an all-league lacrosse player, but he was perhaps best known as a standout swimmer. He was a two-time state champion and an eight-time High School All-American.[1] At age 14, he was the #1-ranked swimmer in the country in his age group in the 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter freestyle.[2] He beat future Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps on several occasions.[3]

College career

Rubin saw his first game action as a wide receiver in Penn State's 2004 Big Ten-opener at Wisconsin, making two receptions for 21 yards. He earned a starting job the next week at Minnesota, making a season-high six catches for 60 yards. He started 6 of the final 7 games, totaling 16 receptions for 187 yards for the season. Rubin dislocated his ankle in an August 2005 practice, and redshirted the 2005 season. He began the 2006 season at safety, but was troubled by a broken collarbone and played sparingly. He was switched back to wide receiver in time for Penn State's game against Temple and saw limited action the rest of the season.[1]

In 2007, Rubin played in every game on both defense and special teams and earned the starting safety job the last five games. He ended the season with 32 tackles (17 solo), with one tackle for loss. Rubin had 8 tackles in the Nittany Lions' 24-17 Alamo Bowl victory over Texas A&M, helping hold the Aggies to 3 points over the final 49 minutes.[1]

Rubin became the Nittany Lions' full-time starter in 2008, and made his first interception September 6, versus Oregon State. Rubin's best game came during Penn State's much-anticipated nationally-televised showdown with Ohio State. With Penn State trailing by three points with 10:38 to play, Rubin's tackle of Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor forced a momentum-changing fumble which was recovered by linebacker Navorro Bowman. The play was voted the week's Pontiac Game Changing Performance with an overwhelming 53 percent of the total votes,[4] Rubin led the defense with a career-high 11 tackles in the victory,[5][6] and was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week[7] and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.[8] He ended the season with 60 tackles (30 solo), with one tackle for loss, two interceptions and one forced fumble.

Overall, Rubin started 24 career games at Penn State.

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20 ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6-1¼ * 222 lb * 4.59 * 1.58 * 2.67 * 4.26 * 6.78 * 32 in. * 9'07" * 17 * 37 *

(*At Penn State Pro Day, March 18, 2009)[9]

Academic

Rubin completed dual majors in August 2008, earning a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Bachelor of Arts in public relations, while graduating with a 3.80 GPA. He was accepted by Penn State’s graduate school as a MBA candidate that fall. He was named an Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2006, 2007, 2008)[1] three times and was named First Team Academic All-American in 2008.[10]

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

He was signed as a free agent out of Penn State immediately following the 2009 NFL Draft.[11][12] He was waived June 30. Re-signed on August 10. Waived again on September 5.

He now spends his day hunting unicorns and other woodland creatures.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "#9: Mark Rubin". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/rubin_mark00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-29. 
  2. ^ "Top 16 List". USA Swimming. 2000-11-02. http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/42ace06b-67e5-4fe0-86f2-a273a5d4777d/ind_LCM_99.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-04. 
  3. ^ Sullivan, Jerry (2008-10-29). "Rubin's time at Penn State arrives". The Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/477401.html. Retrieved 2008-10-29. 
  4. ^ "Rubin Fumble Hit Landslide Winner of Pontiac Game Changing Performance". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. 2008-10-30. http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/103008aag.html. Retrieved 2008-10-31. 
  5. ^ Musselman, Ron (2008-10-26). "PSU Football: Ends jinx in Columbus with 13-6 win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08300/923068-13.stm?cmpid=sports.xml. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
  6. ^ "No. 3 Nittany Lions Top No. 10 Buckeyes, 13-6". 2008-10-25. http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/102508aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
  7. ^ "Rubin Earns Walter Camp Defensive Honors; Fumble Hit Up For Pontiac Game Changing Performance". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. 2008-10-26. http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102608aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
  8. ^ "Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin Earn Football Weekly Laurels". Big Ten Conference. 2008-10-27. http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102708aaa.html. Retrieved 2008-10-27. 
  9. ^ Mark Rubin - S- Penn State NFL Draft Scout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  10. ^ "2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America". College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). http://www.cosida.com/documents/2008/11/26/2008AAAFootball.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-26. 
  11. ^ Thomas, Eric (2007-04-27). "Ware finding his way with weight, Four Lions drafted on Sunday". The Sentinel. http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2009/04/26/sports/local/doc49f51ba44d888236029924.txt. 
  12. ^ "Rams: Sign 11 undrafted free agents". KFFL.com. 2009-04-27. http://www.kffl.com/player/21292/nfl.