How Ruke Orhorhoro can break out for Tigers

Ruke Orhorhoro did not grow up playing football.

For starters, he was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He spent his first nine years living in the African country before his family left for the United States, settling in Michigan. But even then he didn’t immediately pick up the game. His parents did not want him playing, and Orhorhoro’s passion was basketball.

But after transferring schools after his freshman year of high school, he landed at River Rouge High where there was a football team. After his sophomore year, football coaches approached him. With a 6-foot-4 frame and room to continue growing, the coaching staff saw a budding football star.

Still, where he would play on the field was undetermined. He tried out wide receiver and linebacker until he found his home on the defensive line.

“I always wanted to play football, but never got the chance to because my parents were always scared,” Orhorhoro said earlier this week. “They finally let me when I got older though.”

The late start to his football career explains his recent development. Just a three-star prospect coming out of high school in the 2019 class, the Tigers coaching staff was high on the defensive tackle. Brent Venables connected with the Michigan product through Twitter, and after receiving an offer and visiting Clemson, Orhorhoro committed in June 2018. The signing earned the Tigers their first commitment from the Great Lake State in 44 years.

In Orhorhoro’s freshman season, he played 84 snaps and entered 2020 as Tyler Davis’ backup. But in the season opener against Wake Forest last year, he suffered a meniscus injury that sidelined him for most of the season.

He used the injury to reevaluate, deciding to approach football from angles, spending more time in the film room. And now, entering his third year at Clemson, the defensive tackle has coaches raving about him with a real shot of being in the rotation with Davis and Bryan Bresee.

“I feel like I’ve taken a big step,” he said. “I think I put more time into the film room and my knowledge of the game has grown. I haven’t been playing for that long compared to others. But I feel like I’ve taken a big step mentally and physically. Also got my body right, got my body lean coming off the injury and trying to fortify toward this season.”

The work has paid off in a different way, too. While some Clemson players grew up playing the game, he didn’t until late in high school. Because of that, he has finally realized how to slow the game down, mentally and physically. He can identify the offensive formation at the line of scrimmage. And through film, he has learned to identify offensive linemen’s tendencies.

“It’s actually very slow compared to last fall camp,” Orhorhoro said. “Last fall camp slowed down a little bit, but this year is very slow because now I can see the tendencies of what the offense is getting ready to do and what formation they’re in, whether it’s pass or run; I can identify that a lot quicker.”

Orhorhoro is a member of a defensive line that ranked as one of the nation’s top pass rush units last season. But the Tigers relied on the blitz to generate pressure, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Clemson defensive line has seven returners who have started a game before at Clemson. Orhorhoro is not one of them. But his potential impact could be game changing, adding another layer to the Tigers elite front seven.

“If I had to pick a guy that I think’s got a chance to have a great season, I would say Ruke,” Dabo Swinney said. “I think he’s ready. … Ruke has made big strides for us up front.”