62 Days till Kickoff: Baylor’s #62 Siaki Ika
As always, keep track of both the stats and roster countdowns in the Offseason Hub!
Siaki Ika, a junior defensive lineman from Salt Lake City, is arguably Baylor’s best player on defense heading into the 2022 season. The 6’4 350 lb noseguard specializes in taking on triple teams, stuffing the run, and celebrating his big plays. Opponents will be terrified game-planning for a defensive line that features Siaki Ika, Jaxon Player, Gabe Hall, TJ Franklin, Cole Maxwell, and many others. Ika will have two years of eligibility remaining past the 2022 season, but I would imagine he will declare for the draft and be one of the top defensive tackles selected. While still at Baylor, Ika is majoring in health, kinesiology, and leisure studies major.
Upon his transfer to BU in 2021, Ika earned Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and AP First-Team All-Big 12 for his performances on the field. The only thing larger than his personality is his importance to Baylor’s top 10 defense. Although Ika racked up 24 tackles and 4 sacks on the season, his presence is felt far beyond the stat sheet. He totaled five tackles in the Sugar Bowl victory over No. 8 Ole Miss and four tackles and half of a sack against No. 7 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.
As a true freshman during LSU’s National Championship winning season in 2019, Ika played in 13 games at nose tackle and recorded 17 tackles and 1.5 TFL. While Dave Aranda left Baton Rouge to take the job at Baylor, Ika returned to LSU for his sophomore season in 2020 but only played in four games before entering the transfer portal.
Coming out of East High School in Salt Lake City, Ika was a consensus four-star defensive tackle. He was rated the No. 1 overall player in Utah and the No. 159 overall player in the country according to 247. As a senior in 2018, Ika recorded video game stats with 89 tackles and 14 sacks. He received invites to the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl and ended up committing to Dave Aranda and LSU over Florida, Oregon, Utah, and USC.
