Ruke's Time: Orhorhoro's patience pays off

Orhorhoro makes a tackle against SC State.

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Thu Sep 16 17:00:07 GMT-04:00 2021

Like a lot of Clemson players before him, Ruke Orhorhoro waited his turn on the depth chart before finally getting his turn to shine -- and shine he has on the Tigers defensive line so far this season.

Orhorhoro stepped up against Georgia when Tyler Davis had to go into COVID protocol before the game, recording three tackles and earned co-defensive player of the game against South Carolina State after recording a team-high six tackles and two for loss.

After being limited last season with an injury (knee), the redshirt sophomore says his confidence is through the roof and credits that to his development and film study.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence, but most of that comes from practice,” said Orhorhoro. “I feel like practice is where you boost your confidence and gain the trust of your teammates. I’ve gained a lot of confidence these last two games.”

“I’d say just developing more and watching more film,” said Orhorhoro on his progression. “If you watch a lot of film, the game is ten times easier. I’ve definitely been in the film room a lot more and working on that aspect of my game.”

The Michigan native had to wait his turn on the sideline the last few years as defensive lineman after defensive lineman made a name for themselves in the Orange and White.

“I was just always going to be ready whenever my number was going to be called,” Orhorhoro said. “You always have an opportunity here, because we play a lot of guys here. Whenever you get an opportunity, whether that be earlier in the game or later, you still have an opportunity. I feel like I’m starting to take better opportunities in my situation.”

Coming off the loss to Ohio State, there were questions about the Clemson defense coming into this year. Everyone knew the D-line was going to be stacked with talent, but Orhorhoro said the way they bonded after the loss made the defense even more locked in for this season.

“I think everyone was more self-motivated, there was just a different feeling in the air during spring,” said Orhorhoro. “Seeing guys here the day after we lost to Ohio State, that just showed me that this team was going to be special and these guys were ready to handle some business. We’re motivated by winning and the joy of winning just motivates us more.”

Orhorhoro also thinks that the Clemson defensive line is one of the best in the country and the depth they have at the position group is scary.

“We’re a really special group and not a lot of teams can go out there with the different amount of combinations that we do," Orhorhoro said, "and there’s no drop off. We can throw Myles Murphy out there, Xavier Thomas, Justin Mascoll, KJ Henry, Regan (Upshaw) and Justin Foster, the list goes on and on. There’s just so many guys you can throw out there and keep us fresh, so I think we’re going to be really special this year.”

In just two games this season, Orhorhoro has already surpassed his career total in tackles. In his first two seasons, the redshirt sophomore from Nigeria totaled just five total tackles in 14 games. After the games against Georgia and SC State, Orhorhoro has totaled eight tackles and 2.5 for loss.

Orhorhoro and the Clemson defense has another chance this weekend to keep an offense out of the endzone for a third straight game when they welcome Georgia Tech into Death Valley for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff (ABC).