Baylor Bears Defensive Tackle Siaki Ika No. 3 Prospect at His Position
Baylor Bears nose tackle Siaki Ika is graded as the No. 3 defensive tackle prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Focus.
Ika had a stellar two-year career with the Bears after transferring from LSU to follow former Tigers defensive coordinator and current Baylor coach Dave Aranda.
2023 NFL Draft Rankings: Top 10 Defensive Tackles♨️ pic.twitter.com/KVbZL9VCTh
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 30, 2022
In an All-American season in 2021, Ika are opposing offensive fronts alive to the tune of six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks to go with 24 total tackles. The season was good enough to not only make the All-American team, but also First Team All-Big 12 and was named the conference’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Ika didn’t fill the stat sheet in 2022 as much as he did in 2021, but he was still named First Team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive year.
Although he didn’t record a sack in 2022, Ika wrapped up another 24 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two batted passes. Ika was also named a Third Team All-American by Phil Steele.
Ika is expected to be a day one or two picks, only rated behind Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Clemson’s Bryan Bresee.
The Bears could have another early draft pick besides Ika, as left tackle Connor Galvin is also one of the top prospects at his position.
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Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of InsideTheBears.com, TheGroveReport.com, RamDigest.com, AllSeahawks.com, and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com