Trevor Lawrence and Ruke Orhorhoro are reunited. At long last, the two are teammates once again.
After playing together at Clemson for two years from 2019-20, Lawrence and Orhorhoro are now teammates with the Jacksonville Jaguars, thanks to the April 17 trade that sent Orhorhoro to Jacksonville from the Atlanta Falcons.
On Monday, Lawrence and Orhorhoro were able to catch up for the first time in quite some time, when Jaguars players reported to the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville for the first day of the 2026 offseason program.
When Lawrence met with the media Monday, he was asked how nice it was to see Orhorhoro again.
“It was great,” Lawrence said. “We were just talking in the locker room, catching up. I haven’t talked to him in a long time. Obviously we’ve both grown up a lot since then, so seeing him now, it’s kind of crazy.”
Of course, Lawrence was drafted No. 1 overall by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft. Three years later, Orhorhoro became the first defensive player selected by the Falcons in the 2024 NFL Draft when they took him in the second round with the 35th overall pick.
On Monday, Lawrence recalled how during the draft process, Orhorhoro had been hoping to be drafted by the Jaguars so he could be with “some familiar faces” like Lawrence and Travis Etienne (who, of course, is now with the New Orleans Saints).
So, after Orhorhoro was traded to the Jags, Lawrence texted Orhorhoro and told him he finally got his wish to be in Jacksonville – just not how he thought it would happen.
“I texted him the other day and was like, basically – we talked when he was getting drafted, and he mentioned he wanted to come down to Jacksonville — of course, go somewhere with some familiar faces. And we hadn’t talked since then. So, I texted him and said, ‘Well, you’re down here. Probably not how you would have imagined it, but we’re back together.’”
After logging eight tackles for loss and a career-high five sacks during his redshirt senior season in 2023 en route to third-team All-ACC honors, Orhorhoro played in 25 games over two seasons with Atlanta in 2024 and 2025.
After posting 11 tackles, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit over eight games during his rookie 2024 campaign, the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder tallied 25 tackles, four tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and a pass defended while playing in all 17 games for the Falcons this past season, including eight starts.
During his Clemson career from 2019-23, Orhorhoro racked up 97 tackles (25.5 for loss), 12 sacks, nine pass breakups and two fumble recoveries over 53 games (30 starts).
“I’m excited,” Lawrence added, of having Orhorhoro on board with the Jags. “He’s a great guy. I’m excited to get him in the building, and a good addition for him. Yeah, it’ll be fun.”