The college football season in Texas starts a week earlier than normal with a Week 0 matchup between North Texas and UTEP. To celebrate us making it through another off-season, we’re counting down the 50 most important players in Texas every day until Aug. 27. The list isn’t necessarily about which players are the best, though talent plays a major factor in most important.

No. 14: Siaki Ika, Baylor junior nose tackle 

The History

Ika was a four-star recruit out of East High School in Salt Lake City who recorded 89 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior. He was invited to the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl before signing with LSU. Ika spent 2019 and some of 2020 at LSU. He played in four games of the 2020 season before entering the transfer portal. He played in 13 games as a nose tackle as a true freshman in 2019. 

Ika followed head coach Dave Aranda – formerly the defensive coordinator at LSU – to Waco. Ika was an immediate impact player at nose tackle for the Bears in 2021. He was the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and a DCTF First-Team All-Texas selection. He started 12 of the 13 games he played in last year, finishing the year with six tackles for loss and four sacks. 

The Skillset 

The 6-4, 358-pound Ika is a nightmare for interior linemen. He’s too big and powerful for most college centers and he’s too athletic for most guards. Ika is a space eater who demands double teams. His sack and tackle for loss numbers suggests that he’s more than just a nose tackle who takes up blocks to free the linebackers behind him. Ika is a true playmaker who prevents opponents from rushing up the middle. He also provides pressure in the face of a quarterback by collapsing the pocket from the inside. Ika is the best interior lineman in Texas heading into the 2022 class. He’s a future NFL starter. 

The Impact 

Ika is one of the reasons linebackers Terrell Bernard and Dillon Doyle enjoyed so much success in 2021. The more blockers an opponent needs to handle Ika, the fewer blockers remaining to block at the second level. Opposing teams averaged a mere 3.3 yards a carry and only scored 16 rushing touchdowns over 14 games against Baylor last season. Ika is the anchor of that defensive unit. He’s an All-Big 12 preseason selection and was named the Best Defensive Lineman in Texas in the 2022 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. He’s a force who makes life easier for literally every other player on Baylor’s defense. Baylor’s defensive line is the best in the Big 12 and Ika is the biggest reason, literally and figuratively. 

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