How Louisville's Clev Lubin honors his Haitian roots on football field

Clev Lubin‘s sack celebrations are a mixed bag.

Louisville’s senior defensive lineman uses each as an added element of entertainment for spectators and has been known to have a few at his disposal: rolling dice — signifying how he bets on himself — and the “Karate Kid” crane kick pose are just a couple.

But the one that means the most and will be seen the most this season pays homage to his Haitian heritage. Lubin combines the popularized Superman move (pretending to rip open one’s shirt in the chest area) with throwing up the “Z” (the two thumbs connect with one palm facing him and the other turned backwards).

Lubin did it so much at practices during his time at Army that one teammate, who was also Haitian, referred to him as “Zuperman” instead of Superman. He debuted the combination move at Iowa Western Community College and brought it two years later to Louisville, where he led the team in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles in his Cardinals debut.

“When I went to JUCO, I started doing the celebration, so that’s just stuck with me,” Lubin said. “That’s kind of my little thing right there.”

The Z stands for “Zoe,” which is considered an anglicized version of the word “zo,” meaning “bone” in Creole. During the 1990s, Haitian immigrants in Miami who faced violence and racism began to unify and defend themselves, leading them to refer to each other as Zoe.

The phrase spread to other parts of the country, including New York, Lubin’s home state, and is now a widely used phrase of camaraderie among Haitian communities. For some, Zoe symbolizes being strong as bones, while others interpret it as being connected, like bones.

Lubin’s style of play personifies both meanings. Last year, opposing offenses in the ACC found out just how strong he is coming off the line of scrimmage.

On second-and-5 against California, Lubin, whose parents were born in Haiti, broke through three defenders to take down running back Kendrick Raphael for a 4-yard loss. He wreaked havoc all night with a season high-tying 10 tackles despite the Cardinals loss. Unblocked or even one-on-one is worse, as Kentucky found out. On third-and-3, Lubin blew past Wildcats right tackle Alex Wollschlaeger for one of his season-high three sacks in the shutout victory.

“Clev doesn’t think anybody can block him, but that’s the way you’ve got to be if you want to be one of the best,” said Virginia Tech defensive lineman Kemari Copeland, who was Lubin’s teammate at Army and Iowa Western Community College.

Lubin’s influence spreads to his brothers on the line, helping to create cohesion up front while setting his teammates up for success. A fourth-quarter strip-sack of James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett was followed by defensive lineman AJ Green‘s first career touchdown. More than a month later, a batted pass against Boston College allowed defensive lineman Jordan Guerad to corral his first career interception.

Lubin comes into the fall as the leader of Louisville’s defense and one of only two Cardinals to make the All-ACC preseason team. His knack for getting in the backfield is enough to make him one of the best defensive linemen in the country. Honoring his Haitian roots in the process is a bonus.

Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Louisville’s Clev Lubin honors his Haitian roots on football field