2024 Exclusive Sneak Peek: Ruke Orhorhoro, DL, Clemson
Welcome to the Exclusive Sneak Peek: Ruke Orhorhoro, a defensive lineman out of Clemson. He is from Lagos, Nigeria, and was a 3-star recruit from Lagos High School.
Orhorhoro’s collegiate career got off to a slow start as he appeared in only four games in his first two seasons at Clemson, one of those seasons was the Covis-19-shortened season of 2020.
In 2021 he became a full-time player for the first time and production soon followed as he racked up 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He followed that up in 2022 with a 13 tackle and 4 sacks season in 14 games.
His final collegiate season came in 2023 with Clemson. He played in 12 games and set career highs in tackles and sacks, with 13 and 5 respectively.
Measurables
NCAA Statistics
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| *2019 | Clemson | ACC | FR | DT | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2020 | Clemson | ACC | SO | DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2021 | Clemson | ACC | SO | DT | 13 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
| *2022 | Clemson | ACC | JR | 14 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| *2023 | Clemson | ACC | SR | DT | 12 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career | Clemson | 39 | 49 | 88 | 25.5 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Scouting Reports
Strengths
- Possesses a powerful lower body and gets great leverage on the line of scrimmage.
- Has an excellent motor and a knack for finding the ball.
- He has a tall and sturdy frame and great length.
- Has elite upper body power and ability to dominate the opposition.
Weaknesses
- His spin move is slow and mechanical and lacks any real pop to it.
- Has short arms which could limit his effectiveness and upside.
- Is extremely raw and will need time to develop and refine his technique.
- He struggles with hand-to-hand technique on the line of scrimmage.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Expected Draft Capital: Late Round 3
Ideal Landing Spot: Buffalo Bills
The Bills have seen their defense gutted by injuries and free agency and a potentially elite, young defensive lineman in the third round could be a steal and exactly what they need to jump-start their struggling unit.
Orhorhoro could conceivably go much earlier than this due to the league-wide need for starting linemen, but if he makes it to the third round he will be a great value for whichever team chooses to draft him.
