Scouting Report: Ruke Orhorhoro (IDL) - Clemson
Sales Pitch: “Long explosive defensive lineman with the physical traits to be a three down difference maker. Needs to improve his instincts and technique to realize his upside but has legit plus starter potential with a little coaching.”
Athletic Profile
Height: 6’ 4”
Weight: 294 lbs
Arm Length: 34”
Hand Size: 9 3/8”
40 Yard Dash: 4.89
10 Yard Split: 1.67
Vertical: 32”
Broad Jump: 9’ 8”
Short Shuttle: 4.50
3-Cone: 7.39
Age: 22
Relative Athletic Score: 9.92 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 39 Tackles - 25.5 TFL - 12 Sacks
2023: 13 Tackles - 8 TFL - 5 Sacks
Strengths
Explosive lineman with strong movement skills
Dynamic first step off the ball
Too athletic for lineman to mirror 1 on 1 in space as a rusher
Effective bull rush move
Long arms to get first contact as a pass rusher
Anchor and pad level to hold ground at the point of attack
Lateral agility to maintain leverage on reach blocks
Quick violent hands to quickly shed blocks
Powerful strikes to stun defenders
Movement skills to be weaponized on stunts and twists
Weaknesses
Motor turns on and off
Ability to key the ball is inconsistent
Primarily wins with physical tools not technique as a rusher
Limited pass rush arsenal with only a few moves
Needs to improve anchor and technique versus double teams
Base gets narrow and shoulders turn when moving laterally making it easy to wash him out of the play
Lacks block awareness
Gets tunnel vision as a run defender and is late to disengage to tackle ball carrier
Summary
Ruke Orhorhoro is a long explosive defensive lineman with the physical tools to be a three down difference maker at the next level. The former 3-Star from Michigan was a late comer to football, primarily playing basketball from age nine, when he moved to the States from Nigeria, until his Junior year of high school when he picked up football. As is the custom with Clemson defenders, Orhorhoro had to wait his turn to get significant reps but he did he was very effective, winning All-ACC honors in both 2022 and 2023. Orhorhoro has the length and athletic ability to be a plus starter at the NFL level. He has the burst off the line to consistently create penetration in the run game and the agility to leverage his gap on perimeter runs. He plays with good anchor and pad level to hold his ground at the point of attack versus base and down blocks. Orhorhoro has long arms with powerful hands that he uses to stun and quickly shed blocks as a run defender. He must improve his anchor and technique against double teams. He has a poor habit of turning his shoulders on contact which allows for him to be washed out of plays. Orhorhoro struggles with block awareness in the run game. He will get tunnel vision on his assignment while engaged and be late to disengage and find the ball carrier. As a pass rusher, he primarily wins with his physical tools. Orhorhoro is too quick and agile for lineman to mirror one on one in space. He is also an effective looper on stunts and twists. He displays an effective bull rush where he uses his quick hands to get first contact before driving back interior lineman to collapse the pocket with outstanding leverage and leg drive. Orhorhoro will have to develop a more polished set of rush moves to succeed at the next level. He shows the hand work as a run defender needed to do so but it does not show up as a pass rusher, where has a limited move set with virtually no counters. Orhorhoro projects best as a 3T in a single gap even front. He has the physical tools to be a true three down threat but must improve his instincts and technique to realize his potential. Given his athletic tools Orhorhoro should find himself taken sometime on Day 2 as a rotational player with plus starter upside.