Among the six former Clemson standouts who were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft is Ruke Orhorhoro.

The 6-foot-4, 294-pound defensive tackle was taken by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round (No. 35 overall) on Day 2 of the draft in Detroit on Friday.

The Falcons are certainly happy to have Orhorhoro on their team, and Falcons area scout Shepley Heard spoke about why the team selected the 2023 all-conference performer.

“The guy’s obviously very disruptive, and he’s going up against high-level talents each week. Playing in a big program like Clemson, you’re going up against better competition,” Heard said.

Added Heard: “When I go into Clemson and I start asking people there and sources there, yeah, he’s always been that guy – they’ve always talked about him the same way, whether it’s like, ‘This guy brings energy, this guy is one of the hardest workers on our team, this guy is one of the best leaders on our team.’ It’s always been consistent.”

Orhorhoro appeared in 53 career games at Clemson from 2019-23 with 30 starts. The coaching staff credited him with 97 tackles (25.5 for loss), 12.0 sacks, nine pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 1,526 career snaps. He posted 8.0 tackles for loss and a career-high 5.0 sacks in his redshirt senior season in 2023 to collect third-team All-ACC honors.

You can hear more from Heard, as well as Falcons defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, about why the Falcons picked Orhorhoro in the 2024 NFL Draft below.

Check out the following video from the Falcons’ YouTube channel: