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Ruke Orhorhoro, IDL, Clemson (Senior)

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Rayane M

Back for the 2024 NFL Draft edition, The Trick Play team is once again offering to immerse you in the heart of the event through the scouting reports of Rayane and Valentin. Who will become the next gem of the pro world and who, on the contrary, risks a spectacular flop?
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Strengths :

  • Huge explosivity
  • Powerful player
  • Separation
  • Pursuits
  • Leverage
  • Good run stop
  • Potential as a power rusher
  • Raw

 

Weaknesses :

  • Overall balance
  • Pass Rush
  • Handwork
  • Very raw

TTProfil

 
What a pleasant surprise Ruke Orhorhoro has been in my list of players to scout for the interior defensive lineman position. In a class of players that is solid but lacks a real superstar, he has been one of the most convincing players to potentially have a magnificent career, provided he lands in the right environment. In any case, he is one of the players at the position who has truly impressed me the most.
 
The first thing that catches the eye when watching tape of Ruke is his explosiveness off the line. It's impressive. Ruke is both explosive and powerful, and it shows! 
 
Speaking of power, let's address this point as it represents a significant part of Ruke's game. Indeed, Ruke often displays considerable power in his lower body, which seems genuinely robust, at the onset of the play, allowing him to attack the line of scrimmage aggressively and hold his own against opposing double teams. If Ruke can generate significant force in his lower body at the start of the play, he is equally capable of developing it in his upper body during the play when he demonstrates a strong punch and the ability to extend his arms to disengage.
And precisely, let's talk about his separation as well. There are few instances where he does not extend his arms during his reads, which allows him to very often be in a favorable position to counter his opponent and put himself in good positions to disrupt the opposing running game.
 
I really found that Ruke demonstrated a very good mentality on his pursuits, although he doesn't go all out (probably to avoid burning out completely in two plays) but he doesn't hesitate to do them at a very good pace and, above all, to maintain his effort even on long runs where most DTs would have given up because they are often lazy.

Surely one of Ruke's major strengths is his strong presence in run defense, particularly in Gap control situations. If we had to choose between his presence against the run or against the pass, it's clearly against the run that Ruke shines the most. He is truly impressive, especially because of the significant force he can exert and his great explosiveness, which sometimes allow him to truly disrupt plays from the inside of the line. I'm repeating myself, but it's impressive.
 
I mention strength and explosiveness a lot in Ruke's game because it's impossible not to see them on almost every play, but if he's so good in run-stop situations, it's not just because of that. Indeed, Orhorhoro also possesses very good leverage. He plays low, which makes him even stronger thanks to his significant power in the lower body. This good leverage is also noticeable in pass rush situations where Ruke can dominate his opponents in power, even when they seem to have a favorable position.
 
On the pass rush side, let's not deceive ourselves, while Ruke's pass rush moves and techniques are quite average, and we'll come back to this later in the scouting, it doesn't prevent him from generating pressure in passing situations. Once again, primarily due to his significant strength, explosiveness, and good leverage, he is capable of collapsing the pocket from the interior, even in 2-vs-1 situations. Another good point, therefore. 
 
Another point that might interest NFL scouts is that Ruke is capable of playing at any position along the interior of the defensive line, which adds real value to him. Whether we're talking about DE in a 3-technique, DT in a 3-technique, NT in a 1-technique, or even NT in a 0-technique in certain packages (not all, I think putting him in a 0-technique NT position against an obvious running play with a heavy personnel lineup would be too much because while he's capable of doing it, such a specific role remains for players with much larger physiques), Ruke has played these positions within Clemson's defense and has indeed excelled there. 
 
Finally, for the last point, it could fit into both the strengths and weaknesses categories, and spoiler alert, it will indeed be there, because let's face it, we can't talk about Ruke without mentioning his rawness. So, while it's still very raw, why do I see it as a strength nonetheless? Simply because the areas for improvement are visible, making him all the more promising despite the fact that he's approaching 23 years old.
 
On the weaknesses side now, I'll start by mentioning his overall balance, which will need work. While Ruke is powerful, he tends to overpower his opponent and really put weight and pressure on a gap or a shoulder. When the offensive lineman plays into this and decides to use that force against him, Ruke is completely off balance and can even be taken to the ground at times because of it. He needs to learn to develop that power and explosiveness while staying in control.

We briefly touched on it in the strengths section, but it's high time we delve into why Ruke Orhorhoro doesn't have any hype in the media (aside from the fact that he's not 21 years old and doesn't run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 [he ran it in 4.89 at almost 300lbs anyway]). Ruke sorely lacks variety in his pass rush reps. There's a lot of work that can and should be done on his pass rush repertoire, which is currently underdeveloped. However, his athletic qualities indicate that he could develop several techniques in the future that could be quite effective, provided, of course, that he works on them and chooses to use them in games. Simply adding two or three effective techniques in his first couple of NFL seasons could make him extremely dangerous and turn him into a completely different player.
This goes hand in hand with the previous point, but Ruke doesn't seem to possess any counter moves in his repertoire at the moment. At least, he rarely tries to change techniques mid-rep to catch his opponent off guard; he mostly relies on bull-rushing his blocker to collapse the pocket from the inside. This is a real concern for me regarding his projection as a pass rusher at the next level.

A new point that deserves attention and still related to his ability to rush the QB, his hand technique is rather poor. Ruke too rarely seeks to shed the hands of the offensive lineman to then execute a move or to dive into a gap. If he doesn't do it, it's also because he didn't necessarily need to at Clemson, as he was already capable of dominating. However, this is an aspect that is relatively easy to work on and could make a significant difference at the next level, where he'll likely face offensive linemen of a much higher caliber.

Finally, as expected, I also included Ruke's rawness as a weakness because, indeed, Ruke is still very raw in certain aspects of his game, which could deter some teams, especially considering that he will already be 23 years old in his rookie season. It's certainly reasonable to think that some coaches may not want to deal with a 23-year-old project player, no matter how strong and promising he may be.
 

Ruke Orhorhoro is a prospect who truly impressed me on tape due to his combination of power and explosiveness, coupled with his versatility to play anywhere along the defensive line. Additionally, his potential ceiling could be one of the highest among defensive tackles in this class. It's worth noting that Ruke just turned 22 and will be 23 next October. As a Nigerian immigrant who arrived in the USA relatively late and started playing football even later in 2017, he only has six years of football experience under his belt.

Succeeding at such a high level with so little experience is very impressive and largely explains his rawness in certain aspects, particularly in pass rush, which is a specialized skill. Knowing this, the promise of late development is significant and alone could warrant a second-round pick. However, Ruke is more than just a high-potential project. Watching a Clemson game and observing the defensive line reveals his consistent impact when he's on the field. When he's there, it's evident and palpable; when he's not, it's even more noticeable.

If I have no trouble placing Ruke as one of the top defensive tackles in this class, I've seen very few media outlets say the same. Ultimately, Ruke Orhorhoro doesn't currently enjoy much hype and could turn out to be a very pleasant surprise if he falls to the second or third round. There will certainly be work to be done, but with his athletic abilities and impressive power for his size, as well as the potential seen in his pass rush and his already significant impact against the run, I see him as a first-round talent, ahead of names like Jer'Zhan Newton or Byron Murphy.

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