On Wednesday, reports surfaced that LSU nose tackle Siaki “Apu” Ika was entering his name into the NCAA transfer portal. During Ed Orgeron’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Auburn, the LSU head football coach announced the reasoning behind the decision of the Salt Lake City product.

“We recruited him to play in the 3-4 defense. But with the 4-3 scheme, we wanted more quickness there,” Orgeron said in his Thursday press conference. “He was struggling a little bit. I wanted him to stay. He’s more of a 3-4 nose tackle. I think he can still have a heck of a career.”

While Ika is in the transfer portal, he is free to pull his name out and return to the Tigers, but Orgeron’s comments and those of teammate Neil Farrell Jr. suggest that Ika is set to leave Baton Rouge.

According to 247Sports, Ika was a 4-star recruit in the class of 2019, ranking as the No. 13 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 138 overall player nationally. He recorded 17 tackles, 1.5 of those for a loss, in 11 games as a true freshman in 2019. This season, he added 5 tackles and a sack to his totals through 3 games.