Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-10vs Abilene Christian | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-24@ Oregon State | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Total | 12 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#24
Malik Esquerra
Junior safety on Texas Tech's 2026 roster.
6′3″ · 210 lb · Killeen, TX · Shoemaker
Returning to Texas Tech for 2026
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 567 nationally · Signed with Texas Tech
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 safety on Texas Tech's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Texas Tech in 2024.
Malik Esquerra
Third year in the Texas Tech secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles against Oregon State, Week 2, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Texas Tech3-star out of Killeen Shoemaker
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Texas Tech
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Texas Tech
Played his entire career under Joey McGuire.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Joey McGuire — 22-7 over that span.
2024Texas Tech8-5HC: Joey McGuire · Balanced, fast tempo
2025Texas Tech12-2HC: Joey McGuire · Balanced
2026Texas Tech2-0HC: Joey McGuire · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (80th percentile). Concern: tackles for loss (20th 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: 6.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Joey McGuire
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 | Texas Tech | 12 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Texas Tech | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Texas Tech | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 22 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 33–10
4 TOT · 3 SOLO · 1 PD
Dominant 23-point win at home against Abilene Christian.
With W. Hammond — 298 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · 11 rush yds (2 car) · J. Williams — 71 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Texas Tech
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Texas Tech
Returning around him
- 9 Texas Tech players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +2 net (23 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Texas Tech · Last season: 12-2 (AP #4) · Talent rank #29 · 2026 recruiting class #18
Background
2025 SEASON (SOPHOMORE) Saw an increased role as a sophomore, appearing in all 14 games either on special teams or as a reserve safety … played in at least one defensive snap in 12 different games overall as the primary backup to Cole Wisniewski … member of three special teams units as a main con...
The secondary · Texas Tech
- #7Brenden Jordan59 tackles · 2025
- #14Brice Pollock47 tackles · 2025
- #27Amier Boyd-Matthews26 tackles · 2025
- #4Davin Martin26 tackles · 2025
- #24Malik Esquerra8 tackles · 2025
17 more on the roster · Texas Tech team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology