Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen are excited to have Ruke Orhorhoro a part of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive front.
Last Friday, the Jaguars traded Maason Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for Orhorhoro.
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For Lawrence, Orhorhoro landing in Jacksonville is a reunion. The two were teammates together at Clemson.
“It was great,” Lawrence said of the Jagaurs adding Orhorhoro. “We were just talking in the locker room catching up. I haven’t talked to him in a long time. It was obviously we’ve both grown up a lot since then, so like seeing him now is kind of crazy. But I texted him the other day and was like basically — he we talked when he was getting drafted and he mentioned like he wanted to come down to Jacksonville, of course go somewhere with some familiar faces and we hadn’t talked since then.
“So I text him and said well you’re down here probably not how you would have imagined it but we’re back together. So no I’m excited. He’s a he’s a great guy. Excited to get him in the building and a good addition for us and it’ll be fun.”
Hines-Allen and Orhorhoro also have a previous relationship as well. The addition of Orhorhoro can potentially provide the Jaguars with an added pass rush presence from the defensive tackle position — something that this defense very much needs more of in 2026.
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Any success that Orhorhoro has getting after the quarterback can have a positive trickle-down effect to Hines-Allen and the rest of the Jaguars’ defensive linemen. A steady push from the interior can create favorable matchups and opportunities for others to exploit.
“We had a we had a we had we definitely came across the paths a few times,” Hines-Allen said. “Great kid. I talked to him in his draft process. I talked to him when he was in, I think I was still in Kentucky, and he came on a visit and we chopped it up and ever since — and I just seen him in Arizona too. So like even before he signed, this was before he got traded here. every time I see him, like he always gives me a lot of love, a lot of respect, and I’ve always followed him. Every time we played against him we always touch base, and so for him to be on the team now, to know what type of value and character that he has, he’s going to fit right into what we got going on.
“I’m excited to rush with him. I’m excited to play with him. He kind of know what we about. And, again, like I was just telling him about the rookies, man, come in here, be yourself, compete at a high level, and you going to fit right in with us. And he has that type of mold, and I’m excited to get going with him.”
Orhorhoro was a second-round pick by Atlanta in 2024. After seeing few snaps as a rookie, he took on a much larger role last season, playing 599 defensive snaps. Orhorhoro logged 30 pressures and four sacks, along with ranking 51st in PFF’s pass rush productivity metric out of 121 defensive tackles.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Why Jaguars’ players are excited about Ruke Orhorhoro addition
