MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It’s possible Clemson’s Orange Bowl loss was the last for Ruke Orhorhoro as a Tiger. There’s also a chance the Tigers’ defensive tackle sticks around for another season.
That decision will be made in the coming weeks if not days by Orhorhoro, who’s elevated his stock for the NFL with a couple of strong seasons as Clemson’s No. 3 defensive tackle. Despite sharing a position with star linemen Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis, Orhorhoro has earned plenty of snaps over the last two seasons.
Orhorhoro’s breakout season came as a sophomore when the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder stepped in for the injured Bresee to start nine games, finishing with 36 tackles and eight tackles for loss. He followed that up with 23 tackles and a career-high four sacks this season.
That was enough to earn an invite to the Senior Bowl, which Orhorhoro has accepted. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play in the game, which allows draft-eligible sophomores and juniors to accept an invitation with the option of still returning to school.
Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, may have hinted at some good news for Clemson in regards to Orhorhoro when he tweeted during the Orange Bowl that he was looking forward to seeing how much Orhorhoro’s game improves while playing for Clemson next season. But Orhorhoro insisted following Friday’s game that he still hasn’t made a decision.
“Not yet,” he said.
Yet Orhorhoro admitted there would be a certain motivation for him to put off the NFL for another year. Aside from the fact that he’s not expected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft, Orhorhoro has never won a national championship at Clemson. The Tigers played in the College Football Playoff championship during his true freshman season in 2019 but lost to LSU.
Orhorhoro said he feels like he could help Clemson get back there should he return. He added it would also be nice to accomplish all five goals that the Tigers start each season with, something he’s also yet to be a part of in the same season since becoming a regular contributor along the defensive front two years ago.
“I was there my freshman year when we got to the top of the mountain, and I saw what it took. But I’ve never won one myself,” Orhorhoro said in reference to winning a national championship. “I just want to come back and hit all five goals: Win the closer, win the ACC, win the state championship, win the division and win the opener.
“There’s a lot of young guys that are real good pieces to the puzzle, and just getting a season like this under your belt and playing a lot of football, it would be able to help the team tremendously if we were to come back.”
Clemson has already gotten some good news from one significant contributor along the defensive line with Justin Mascoll deciding to return, but Orhorhoro is among others who are still mulling things over. They have a little more than two weeks left to do so. The deadline for players to declare for the draft is Jan. 16.
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