Baylor’s plan at center has changed fast, and not in the way the Bears expected.
After Coleton Price left for the transfer portal and eventually landed at Kentucky, Baylor filled the opening by bringing in Memphis transfer Yakiri Walker, a center who had started every game for the Tigers. Walker arrived in Waco with the idea that he could step in and anchor the middle of the offensive line. Instead, he’s headed for the sideline in a different capacity.
According to SicEm365, Walker will join Baylor’s staff as an offensive analyst rather than suit up for the Bears.
That turn comes after a legal fight over his eligibility. Walker had already played five seasons when he committed and signed with Baylor, though there had been hope he might be granted a sixth year. That possibility ended when Judge Ryan Luna, a Baylor alum, denied Walker’s injunction for a sixth season.
Walker’s path to Baylor has been a winding one. He started at UConn and spent three seasons there, including a redshirt year. He then moved to Colorado, where he played just 96 seconds, and argued he should receive a waiver for that season because of a “severe, debilitating mental health issue".
The lawsuit said Walker was diagnosed with “adjustment disorder with depressed mood stemming from personal loss and a betrayal of trust that made continued participation unsafe and untenable” during his time at Colorado.
Another trial was set for October, but Baylor’s timeline for fall camp made the on-field fit harder to imagine even before the ruling. If Walker were able to return in late October, he still would have needed time to get back into football shape and work his way in from the ground up.
Now, with Walker moving into a coaching role, Baylor can keep his experience in the building while also helping shape the next center.
That matters because the Bears’ offensive line picture is already taking shape. Kaden Sieracki enters the season as Baylor’s only full-time returning starter, and he is expected to line up at right tackle. His brother, Koltin, started a few games for Baylor last season at both center and guard.
If Walker had been cleared to play, Sieracki likely would have slid to guard or at least competed for a starting job there. With Walker out of the player mix and the injunction denied, Sieracki could move inside to center.
Aranda and Jake Spavital are not going to hand him the job outright. He’ll have to win it. Harrison Cluff, a redshirt freshman who logged some snaps at center last season, is also in the picture.
Still, with Walker no longer available as a player, Sieracki moving to center looks like the cleanest answer as Baylor heads into fall camp.
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Jadon Porter Sees A Different Baylor Offense Taking Shape
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Porter also noted the adjustment to morning practices, along with his own push to keep sharpening his game as the receiver room sorts out its leadership. He had praise for receivers coach Dallas Baker and head coach Dave Aranda, crediting both with helping shape the room and his development, but the bigger message was that Baylors offense is still taking shape in ways that could matter once the real work begins. [Read more 🡒]