Looking Back At Texas Tech First Round Draft Picks

Gabe Rivera – Defensive Tackle

Arguably the most talented player to ever don the Double-T, Gabe Rivera was a first round pick in 1983.  The Pittsburgh Steelers took the man nicknamed “Senor Sack” with the 21’st overall pick in hopes he would continue their legacy of dominant defensive line play.

However, Rivera’s story took a tragic turn in his rookie season.  In October of 1983, he was intoxicated when he crashed his automobile resulting in permanent paralysis and ending his career.

Rivera had begun to make his mark with the Steelers registering two sacks in his first six games but that would be all he would contribute in his career. As a result of the untimely injury, Texas Tech and Pittsburgh fans alike will always wonder what he could have achieved in the NFL

If his collegiate career was any indication, Rivera would have been a star.  The 2012 College Football Hall of Fame inductee was a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder ran a 4.8 40-yard dash and was the type of physical specimen football coaches dream of.  In his four-year career at Texas Tech he had 321 tackles, 34 for loss, 14 sacks, 11 pass deflections, and 6 fumble recoveries.  He put up an astonishing 102 tackles from the nose tackle position in 1982 helping re-define what a nose tackle was expected to do.

The 1982 SWC Defensive Player of the Year was a Consensus All-American and a member of the SWC All-Decade team for the 1980’s.  But while he is revered by Texas Tech fans, he is considered one of the biggest mistakes in Pittsburgh Steelers history.

To take Rivera, the Steelers passed on a talented quarterback who played high school and college football in Pittsburgh.  Dan Marino was selected six picks later by Miami and would go on to a Hall of Fame career leaving Steelers fans to lament the decision to take a defensive tackle that played six total games in his career.

Still, the name Gabe Rivera is sacred on the South Plains.  He is fondly remembered as the fist Red Raider defensive player to be a national superstar and he is unquestionably the best defensive lineman in program history.