Ruke Orhorhoro
| No. 99 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | October 13, 2001 Lagos, Nigeria | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 295 lb (134 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | River Rouge (River Rouge, Michigan, U.S.) | ||||||||
| College | Clemson (2019–2023) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2024: 2nd round, 35th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 2, 2026 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Oghenerukevwe "Ruke" Orhorhoro (/oʊˈroʊroʊroʊ/[1] born October 13, 2001) is a Nigerian-American professional football defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, and selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Early life
[edit]Orhorhoro was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Michigan in the United States when he was nine.[2] He attended River Rouge High School in River Rouge, Michigan, where he played basketball and football starting his junior year in 2017.[3][4] Orhorhoro committed to Clemson University to play college football.[5]
College career
[edit]As a true freshman at Clemson in 2019, Orhorhoro played in nine games and had five tackles and a half-sack.[6] In 2020, he played in four games and took a medical redshirt. He started nine of 13 games in 2021, recording 36 tackles and 2.5 sacks.[7][8] Orhorhoro returned to Clemson in 2022 and 2023.[9]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 294 lb (133 kg) | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 7+1⁄2 in (2.02 m) | 4.89 s | 1.67 s | 2.80 s | 4.67 s | 7.40 s | 32.0 in (0.81 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | 29 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[10][11][12] | ||||||||||||
Atlanta Falcons
[edit]Orhorhoro was selected in the second round with the 35th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.[13][14]
Jacksonville Jaguars
[edit]On April 17, 2026, the Falcons traded Orhorhoro to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for defensive tackle, Maason Smith, who was selected thirteen picks behind Orhorhoro in the NFL draft.[15][16]
Career statistics
[edit]NFL
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TfL | PD | FF | FR | ||
| 2024 | ATL | 8 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | ATL | 17 | 8 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 3.5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | JAX | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 27 | 8 | 37 | 16 | 21 | 3.5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sacks | |||
| 2019 | Clemson | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| 2020 | Clemson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Clemson | 13 | 36 | 11 | 25 | 8 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | Clemson | 14 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
| 2023 | Clemson | 12 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| Career | 43 | 88 | 39 | 49 | 25.5 | 12 | |
References
[edit]- ↑ Treacy, Dan (April 26, 2024). "How do you pronounce Ruke Orhorhoro's name? Former Falcons WR Andre Rison botches NFL Draft announcement". Sporting News. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ↑ Purcell, Jared (July 20, 2018). "Ruke Orhorhoro goes from Nigeria to USA to Clemson football". mlive.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ↑ Cubit, Alexis (September 14, 2021). "A quick learner: Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro trades hardwood for gridiron". The State. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ↑ Keepfer, Scott (April 26, 2024). "Pros and cons of Atlanta Falcons picking Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro in 2024 NFL Draft". Greenville News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ↑ Farrell, Perry A. (June 19, 2018). "Nigerian-born Michigan football star picks Clemson over UM: 'God's plan'". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
- ↑ Goricki, David (June 23, 2020). "River Rouge's Ruke Orhorhoro sees plenty of improvement at powerhouse Clemson". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ↑ Blau, Jon (September 16, 2021). "Meet Ruke Orhorhoro: Clemson's 'skinny' 295-pound defensive lineman". Post and Courier. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ↑ Shanesy, Todd (September 15, 2021). "Clemson's 300-pound DT Ruke Orhorhoro thinks he's one of the 'skinny butts'". The Greenville News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ↑ Shanesy, Todd (March 11, 2022). "Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro blocked but also helped by return of Tyler Davis". The Greenville News. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ↑ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Ruke Orhorhoro Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ↑ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Ruke Orhorhoro College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ↑ "Clemson 2024 Pro Day Results". ClemsonTigers.com. March 14, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ↑ Waack, Terrin (April 26, 2024). "'I can't let them down': What DT Ruke Orhorhoro said about getting drafted by the Falcons". NFL.com. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ↑ McElhaney, Tori; Waack, Terrin; Subhan, Amna (April 26, 2024). "Falcons select DT Ruke Orhorhoro with the No. 35 pick overall after second-round trade in 2024 NFL Draft". NFL.com. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ↑ "Roster Moves: Jaguars Trade for DL Ruke Orhorhoro". Jaguars.com. April 17, 2026. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
- ↑ McElhaney, Tori (April 17, 2026). "Falcons agree to terms with Jaguars to trade DL Ruke Orhorhoro for DL Maason Smith". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved April 17, 2026.