Senior linebacker for San José State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
6′2″ · 220 lb · Belmont, CA · Junipero Serra HS
The numbers
tackles · 2026
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 2 tackles, at USC
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 linebacker for San José State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
Malakai Hoeft
He arrived as a 2-star recruit and has two seasons of production at San José State behind him. The receipt: 2 tackles against USC — Week 1, 2026.
4 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Ken Niumatalolo — 9-7 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo
Pass share
51.0%
106 pass / 102 run
Plays / game
69.3
3 games
Team sack rate
1.8%
110 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | San José State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | San José State | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 11 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 30–20
vs Cal Poly
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 26-42@ USC | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 1 | W 27-21@ Eastern Michigan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 30-20vs Cal Poly | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
2026 Outlook
San José State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · San José State
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
San José State · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #110 · 2026 recruiting class #129
11 more on the roster · San José State team page