Hunter Rayburn and Ruke Orhorhoro Commit to Clemson Tigers

Hunter Rayburn (6’4, 315), from Pensacola, Florida, picked Clemson over offers from Texas A&M, Florida, and Florida State. He is ranked as a three star prospect and the number 528th overall player in the country, 19th at the Offensive Guard position.

Please hold off on your Oline anxiety until I completely finish my take on Hunter as a recruit. Rayburn’s junior film isn’t great and definitely not the caliber you want to routinely offer if you are competing for championships. But you do see some raw tools and decent athleticism. Now lets factor in that Rayburn has transferred schools in the offseason and showed marked improvement during the Spring, and you have a solid Oline prospect with upside than his current ranking indicates.

Rayburn has the chance to jump into lower 4* territory with a decent senior campaign. I think he will eventually end up a 4* when all is said and done. Not a bad pick-up from the state of Florida who everyone thought would eventually end up a Gator or follow his teammate Adrian Medley who committed to Texas A&M. I prefer Rayburn over Medley.

This recruitment turned quickly after Rayburn’s trip to camp and Jeff Scott served as the recruiter of record, although many of the coaches contributed.

Rayburn projects to be a versatile swing lineman who can cross-train and play multiple positions, but most likely ends up a guard (maybe right tackle). Clemson still needs at least a couple high profile lineman in this class, but Rayburn gives them a solid prospect with upside to build around.

Ruke Orhorhoro (6’4, 266) from River Rouge, Michigan was once a long skinny defensive end at about 215 pounds. Now he is a massive, hulking 266 pounds with no end in sight to his continued growth and maturation. Ruke is a raw prospect, having only played one year of high school football. Right now he is the 662nd overall player and a 3 star prospect, but he had offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Kentucky.

Ruke has a massive wingspan, but with the additional weight he projects as either a 5 or 3 tech. I tend to think he will eventually be slotted in as an athletic, pass-rushing 3 tech. In a down year for defensive lineman you want to pick players based on tools and raw athleticism you can mold. He also has a bunch of relations playing college football. Ruke’s technique needs a ton of work, but that is completely expected after just one year.

Todd Bates gets the most credit for his recruitment, with an assist from Brent Venables. Combined with Tayquon Johnson, Clemson now has two raw, but extremely talented defensive lineman. Clemson should bring in 3 DT’s this cycle (maybe more depending on where they are slotted with regards to position) and DT Tyler Davis is now priority number one.

Ruke made a Power Rangers morphing sign in one of his Twitter pictures when he committed—got to love that...(Austin Bryant said he needed to earn it, but love that this now seems to be a continuing trend...)