Ruke Orhorhoro
{{short description|Nigerian-American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Ruke Orhorhoro
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team = Atlanta Falcons
| number = 98
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|10|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Lagos, Nigeria
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb = 295
| high_school = River Rouge {{nowrap|(River Rouge, Michigan), U.S.}}
| college = Clemson (2019–2023)
| draftyear = 2024
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 35
| pastteams =
- Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|2024}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
| statseason = 2024
| statweek =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 11
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 =
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 =
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 =
| pfr = O/OrhoRu00
}}
Oghenerukevwe "Ruke" Orhorhoro ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|'|r|oʊ|r|oʊ|r|oʊ}}{{Cite web |last=Treacy |first=Dan |date=April 26, 2024 |title=How do you pronounce Ruke Orhorhoro's name? Former Falcons WR Andre Rison botches NFL Draft announcement |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/pronounce-ruke-orhorhoro-name-falcons-andre-rison-nfl-draft/218c763f114971b930708828 |access-date=April 26, 2024 |website=Sporting News}} born October 13, 2001) is a Nigerian-American professional football defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Michigan in the United States when he was nine, later playing college football at Clemson.
Early life
Orhorhoro was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Michigan in the United States when he was nine.{{Cite web |last=Purcell |first=Jared |date=July 20, 2018 |title=Ruke Orhorhoro goes from Nigeria to USA to Clemson football |url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/erry-2018/07/f27f62f46c1272/ruke-orhorhoro-goes-from-niger.html |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=mlive.com}} He attended River Rouge High School in River Rouge, Michigan, where he played basketball and football starting his junior year in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Cubit |first1=Alexis |title=A quick learner: Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro trades hardwood for gridiron |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article254220108.html |access-date=May 13, 2024 |work=The State |date=September 14, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Keepfer |first1=Scott |title=Pros and cons of Atlanta Falcons picking Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro in 2024 NFL Draft |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2024/04/26/ruke-orhorhoro-nfl-draft-2024-falcons-clemson/73240929007/ |access-date=May 13, 2024 |work=Greenville News |date=April 26, 2024}} Orhorhoro committed to Clemson University to play college football.{{Cite web |last=Farrell |first=Perry A. |date=June 19, 2018 |title=Nigerian-born Michigan football star picks Clemson over UM: 'God's plan' |url=https://usatodayhss.com/2018/nigerian-born-michigan-football-star-picks-clemson-over-um-gods-plan |access-date=May 21, 2024 |website=USA TODAY High School Sports |language=en-US}}
College career
As a true freshman at Clemson in 2019, Ororhoro played in nine games and had five tackles and a half-sack.{{Cite web |last=Goricki |first=David |date=June 23, 2020 |title=River Rouge's Ruke Orhorhoro sees plenty of improvement at powerhouse Clemson |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/2020/06/23/river-rouges-ruke-orhorhoro-sees-powerhouse-clemson-tigers/3240440001/ |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=The Detroit News}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Blau |first=Jon |date=September 16, 2021 |title=Meet Ruke Orhorhoro: Clemson's 'skinny' 295-pound defensive lineman |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/clemson/meet-ruke-orhorhoro-clemsons-skinny-295-pound-defensive-lineman/article_ba1ef4fc-16ea-11ec-8eb2-6720ac276808.html |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=Post and Courier}}{{Cite web |last=Shanesy |first=Todd |date=September 15, 2021 |title=Clemson's 300-pound DT Ruke Orhorhoro thinks he's one of the 'skinny butts' |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/2021/09/15/clemson-football-defensive-end-ruke-orhorhoro-number-33-coach-brent-venables/8319590002/ |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=The Greenville News}} Orhorhoro returned to Clemson in 2022 and 2023.{{Cite web |last=Shanesy |first=Todd |date=March 11, 2022 |title=Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro blocked but also helped by return of Tyler Davis |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2022/03/11/clemson-football-dt-ruke-orhorhoro-tyler-davis-nfl-draft/9437353002/ |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=The Greenville News}}
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="7" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Clemson Tigers football}}"| Clemson Tigers |+ Statistics ! rowspan=2|Season ! colspan="1" rowspan="2" |Games ! colspan=5|Tackles | ||||
| Total | Solo | {{abbr|Ast|Assisted tackles}} | {{abbr|TFL|Tackles for loss}} | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019
|3 |4 |2 |2 |1.5 |0.5 | ||||
| 2020
|1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 | ||||
| 2021
|13 |36 |11 |25 |8 |2.5 | ||||
| 2022
|14 |23 |13 |10 |8 |4 | ||||
| 2023
|12 |25 |13 |12 |8 |5 | ||||
| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ruke-orhorhoro-1.html Career]
!43 !88 !39 !49 !25.5 !12 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 4
| weight = 294
| dash = 4.89
| ten split = 1.67
| twenty split = 2.80
| shuttle = 4.67
| cone drill = 7.40
| vertical = 32.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 8
| bench = 29
| arm span = 34
| hand span = 9 3/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/ruke-orhorhoro/32004f52-4841-5291-3d07-20a45c6b3ad7 |title=Ruke Orhorhoro Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=March 19, 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1029966&DraftYear=2024 |title=2024 NFL Draft Scout Ruke Orhorhoro College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=March 19, 2024}}{{Cite web |date=March 14, 2014 |title=Clemson 2024 Pro Day Results |url=https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-2024-pro-day/ |access-date=April 2, 2024 |website=ClemsonTigers.com}}
}}
Orhorhoro was selected in the second round with the 35th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons.{{cite news |last1=Waack |first1=Terrin |title='I can't let them down': What DT Ruke Orhorhoro said about getting drafted by the Falcons |url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/what-defensive-tackle-ruke-orhorhoro-said-second-round-draft-trade |access-date=May 13, 2024 |publisher=NFL.com |date=April 26, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=McElhaney |first1=Tori |last2=Waack |first2=Terrin |last3=Subhan |first3=Amna |title=Falcons select DT Ruke Orhorhoro with the No. 35 pick overall after second-round trade in 2024 NFL Draft |url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/ruke-orhorhoro-defensive-tackle-clemson-no-35-pick-overall-2024-nfl-draft |access-date=May 13, 2024 |publisher=NFL.com |date=April 26, 2024}}
NFL career statistics
= Regular season =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Tackles ! colspan="2"| Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TfL | FF | FR | |
| 2024 | ATL
| 8 || 0 || 11 || 4 || 7 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OrhoRu00.htm Career] | 8 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/players-roster/ruke-orhorhoro/ Atlanta Falcons bio]
- [https://clemsontigers.com/sports/football/roster/ruke-orhorhoro/ Clemson Tigers bio]
{{Atlanta Falcons roster navbox}}
{{Atlanta Falcons 2024 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orhorhoro, Ruke}}
Category:Nigerian players of American football
Category:Players of American football from Lagos
Category:Players of American football from Michigan
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Clemson Tigers football players
Category:Atlanta Falcons players
Category:Nigerian emigrants to the United States
{{Defensive-lineman-stub}}