Baylor Bear Insider
Two years later, Siaki "Apu" Ika is a long way from Baton Rouge, La., where he played a key role on LSU's national championship defense.
A 6-4, 350-pound nose tackle who transferred from LSU after the 2020 season, Apu says Baylor's defensive scheme is "all I know." Baylor head coach Dave Aranda was the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Dennis Johnson was an analyst on that LSU team.
"Really, I know this defense like the back of my hand. The only difference is the vocabulary," said Ika, who had 17 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss as a true freshman in 2019 for the 15-0 Tigers. "I'm built for this defense. I'm built to be in the middle. I'm built to eat up two blocks, make plays when I can. I'm just a big dude built for this job, pretty much."
Much like West Virginia's Darius Stills, who earned Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors last season, Ika "gives us a big push in the middle of the line," Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said, and is virtually impossible to block one-on-one.
"Before, we had a nose, but we didn't have a nose that was able to go in there and eat up blocks, be able to pass rush, a nose that's able to do everything we need him to do," said junior defensive end TJ Franklin. "I expect him to have the biggest impact on the defense."
Although he was a newcomer when he transferred in January, Ika said his Baylor teammates "welcomed me with open arms."
"Just being as comfortable as I am, if you're open to me, I'm open to anyone," he said. "When I decided to come here, dudes on the team reached out to me, saying they're excited for me to come be a part of this team. I like to think of myself as an outgoing person. And the way they were welcoming just made it easy to unwind and grow a good number of brothers on the team."
With a talented group around him that includes Josh Landry, Cole Maxwell, Chidi Ogbonnaya, Gabe Hall, Rob Saulin, Brayden Utley and Franklin, Apu says the Bears' strength in the defensive line is "in our numbers."
"They're fighters," he said. "We had some guys coming back from injury like TJ Franklin and Gabe Hall. Just having them back, being able to go through practice together makes us better as a unit. Practice is practice, we're all dying out there, but we're all able to get through it together, we're all able to lean on our brothers next to us and just get through the day."
Recruited and coached by Aranda at LSU, Ika has seen a different side of him as the Bears' head coach.
"I've seen him grow as a coach," he said. "It makes me happy, because I've always looked up to him. To see the steps that he's taken to become a better coach, to better himself, it makes me happy to be a player for a coach like that, someone who's pushing himself to be better every day just like we are pushing ourselves to be better."
Off the field, the massive defensive lineman from Salt Lake City, Utah, definitely has a fun side. Senior safety Jalen Pitre said Apu is a "big guy that likes to dance."
He also makes his own music, with the handle Jack Fish on Sound Cloud. "You should check it out."
"But right now, for fun?" he says. "All we can do is sleep. Sleep is our best friend right now, at this time in camp."
The Bears went through their fourth-straight afternoon practice on Monday and will be back on the field the next two days before taking a day off Thursday.
Baylor opens the season Sept. 4 with a road game against Texas State in San Marcos, then returns home to host Texas Southern for the Sept. 11 home opener at McLane Stadium. For season, mini-plan and single-game ticket information, go to the 2021 Baylor Football Tickets link.
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