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COMBINE OF CUTENESS — The NFL held its latest combine of aspirational draft prospects this past weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where hundreds of the former college football stars were poked, prodded, measured and put through a number of drills to help determine the draft "value" for the 32 teams in the league.
One of those was former Baylor defensive star Siaki "Apu" Ika, and the East High graduate from Salt Lake City had a strong showing, but he may not have been the most popular person there from his own family.
That honor goes to Ika's baby son, who surprised his dad before doing a hit on the set of the NFL Network with a visit.
The baby cooed at his pops, and dad was equally enthralled as soon as his little one showed up. Just look at the smiles in the video below.
Siaki Ika had the cutest guest join him after his combine workout down with @kimmichex 🥲
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) March 2, 2023
📺: #NFLCombine on NFL Network
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/PuOjPE4KJz
Even hard-hearted NFL scouts must have had their hearts melted.
"It's just extra motivation," Ika told NFL Network of his son. "It's the reason I get out of bed every day, the reason I push harder and harder every day to get better. I want him to grow up to see stuff like this, to chase any dream he wants. It's in reach, as long as you put your mind to it."
Ika had a pretty good day on the gridiron, too. The 6-foot-3, 335-pound defensive tackle posted a 5.39-second 40-yard dash with a 1.88 10-yard split, and added a 7.8-second finish in the 3-cone drill and a 4.99-second shuttle run.
His overall athleticism score graded out at 55, according to NFL.com, which ranked 17th among defensive tackles at the combine. He had a 62 total score, good for 14th overall among interior defensive linemen.
Here's a look at how other former high school and college football players from Utah performed at the combine, including BYU and Herriman High grad Blake Freeland and Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III.
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