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Analogy lost on Browns draft pick Siaki Ika, but he'll try to be Ferrari for Jim Schwartz
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- Analogy lost on Browns draft pick Siaki Ika, but he'll try to be Ferrari for Jim Schwartz
BEREA — New Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants Siaki Ika to convert from beep, beep, beep to vroom, vroom, vroom.
"You're not a dump truck anymore now, Apu. You're a Ferrari. Let's get going," Schwartz told Ika via FaceTime on Friday night during the NFL Draft .
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Schwartz made the comment after the Browns used a third-round pick on Ika , whose nickname is Apu.
The defensive tackle who won a national championship with LSU as a freshman in 2019 before spending his final two collegiate seasons at Baylor admitted Saturday he had no idea what Schwartz was talking about. The Browns shared a video of the entertaining exchange on social media as the organization celebrated its selection of Ika at No. 98 overall.
"To be honest, I don't know what it means," Ika said of Schwartz's remark. "But, hey, I will do whatever he wants me to do. I will be a Ferrari. I will be a Chevy, if you want me to be. It probably [means] just growing up, becoming a pro. So I'm definitely going to start looking at myself as a Ferrari now."
Baylor's Siaki Ika walks on the field before the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021.
As the draft wrapped up, Browns General Manager Andrew Berry provided clarity with respect to Schwartz's analogy.
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"It means [Ika] no longer has to two gap," Berry said. "He just has to get up the field and disrupt, get off the ball, get off the ball, get off the ball, as opposed to just build a stone wall and hold up the offensive line."
Cleveland Browns choose Siaki Ika: Baylor defensive tackle picked 98th overall in 2023 NFL Draft
Ika called himself "a run stopper," but he would welcome a chance to build his reputation.
"I like getting after the quarterback," Ika said. "I'm not the first person people would look at to get after the quarterback, but it's something I think I can do. It's something I think I can do here with the coaching and development."
Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika celebrates with fans after a game against Texas on Oct. 30, 2021, in Waco.
Berry emphasized the Browns are impressed with Ika's movement skills, given his size. The 6-foot-3 lineman weighed 335 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. Weeks later, he weighed 347 pounds at his pro day March 27.
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Weight management will be a key for Ika. He said he wants to trim down a bit and play between 335-340 pounds. He explained 340 pounds was his lightest playing weight last season as a fourth-year junior.
"I think I can knock a couple pounds down and maybe get a little bit faster, move a little bit better," he said.
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Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika sits on the bench during the second half at Iowa State on Sept. 24, 2022.
Ika started 24 of the 42 collegiate games in which he appeared. He compiled 71 tackles, with 11 for loss and 5.5 sacks. He had 24 tackles, including two for loss, and no sacks last season.
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He plans to give the Browns a "stout" presence on the interior of their defensive front.
"I like going straight through the blocks," he said. "I don't want to patty-cake around nothing. I feel like that's what has given me the most success."
Ika said his infant son, also named Siaki, motivates him to succeed. Ika's girlfriend and their baby attended his introductory news conference with fellow Browns third-round choice Cedric Tillman, a wide receiver from Tennessee .
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LSU defensive tackle Siaki Ika walks on the sideline in the first half at Vanderbilt on Sept. 21, 2019.
When Ika and Tillman were asked to described their personalities, Ika labeled himself "outgoing," a "social butterfly" and a "class clown."
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Ika, 22, is determined to become a favorite of two veteran Browns defensive linemen — tackle Dalvin Tomlinson , whose game film he's been studying lately, and four-time Pro Bowl end Myles Garrett .
"[Garrett] hasn't reached out, but I'm looking forward to when he does," Ika said. "He doesn't know this, but he's going to be my best friend. So that's my goal, as of right now, to be best friends with Myles. I'm really excited to play with him."
Ika will be popular among the Browns if he can rev himself up and become a Ferrari for Schwartz.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika celebrates a sack in the first half against BYU on Sept. 10, 2022.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns pick Siaki Ika aims to be Jim Schwartz's Ferrari
