Projected Starting Center Yakiri Walker to be With Baylor Football in Different Role

After his injunction was denied, Baylor's projected center will be with the Bears in a different area.

Yakiri Walker/UConn | Colorado SI

Following Coleton Price leaving Baylor to enter the transfer portal — where he ended up at Kentucky — the Bears thought they had found his replacement. Dave Aranda went out and landed Memphis transfer Yakiri Walker, who started every game at center for the Tigers.

Walker played at UConn, Colorado, and Memphis before heading to Waco. But it turns out, Walker won't play a down for Baylor after all.

According to a report by SicEm365, Walker will be hired onto Baylor's coaching staff as an offensive analyst.

How Walker ended up here

When Walker committed and signed at Baylor, he had already played five seasons of football. But there was a belief he could get a sixth season granted. However, Judge Ryan Luna, a Baylor alum, denied Walker's injunction for a sixth season.

Walker began his career at UConn, where he played three seasons, including a redshirt year. He transferred to Colorado, but played in 96 seconds of football with the Buffaloes. He believed he should get a waiver for that season, citing a “severe, debilitating mental health issue".

The lawsuit stated that 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.

Yakiri Walker's Instagram

Another trial was scheduled for October, but with not being able to participate in fall camp, Baylor was already going to have its offensive line figured out. Even if Walker could come back in late October, he would have to ramp up into football shape and start from scratch.

With his experience and knowledge, coming onto the coaching staff makes sense for both parties, and he can help train the Bears' next center.

Who takes Walker's place?

Entering the season, Kaden Sieracki was Baylor's lone full-time returning starter. He is set to play right tackle, but his brother, Koltin, started a few games for Baylor last season at both center and guard.

If Walker was eligible to play, Sieracki would've played guard, or at least battled for a starting spot. But with news of Walker joining the coaching staff and his injunction being denied, Sieracki could shift over to center.

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Aranda and Jake Spavital likely won't hand Sieracki the keys to the center position, he will have to earn it. The other potential option would be redshirt freshman Harrison Cluff, who played some snaps a season ago at center.

But with the experience, Sieracki sliding into center makes the most sense heading into fall camp.