Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-40@ Iowa | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 24-28vs Illinois State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#14
Malik Armstrong
Senior safety on Northern Illinois's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 192 lb · Joliet, IL
Returning to Northern Illinois for 2026
Recruiting
2★
WR recruit
No. 2547 nationally · Signed with Northern Illinois
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 safety on Northern Illinois's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 2-star recruit to Northern Illinois in 2022.
Malik Armstrong
Malik Armstrong has played for two head coaches in three seasons at Northern Illinois. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Iowa, Week 1, 2026.
10 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2022
- Signed with Northern Illinois2-star out of Minooka Community HS
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★
CFB
College
Northern Illinois
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coaches2024–2025
Northern Illinois
2026era →
Rob Harley
Northern Illinois
Coaching transition mid-career: Thomas Hammock → Rob Harley. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024Northern Illinois8-5HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-leaning
2025Northern Illinois3-9HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2026Northern Illinois0-2HC: Rob Harley · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (10th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 5.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Rob Harley
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Northern Illinois | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Northern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Northern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 12 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Northern Illinois
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Northern Illinois
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: -15 net (7 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Northern Illinois · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #126 · 2026 recruiting class #82
The secondary · Northern Illinois
- #9Dev'ion Reynolds13 tackles · 2025
- #4James Little IV2 tackles · 2025
- #14Malik Armstrong1 tackle · 2025
- #29Romelo Walker1 tackle · 2025
- #2Avery Jones2 games · 2026
15 more on the roster · Northern Illinois team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology