Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-24@ California | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-10vs San Diego State | 10 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Total | 15 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
#12
Malik Hartford
Junior defensive back on UCLA's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 193 lb · Cincinnati, OH · Lakota West HS / Ohio State
Transferred Ohio State → UCLA for 2026
Recruiting
4★
S recruit
No. 152 nationally · Signed with Ohio State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 defensive back on UCLA's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Ohio State in 2023.
- Transferred from Ohio State to UCLA in 2026.
How he projects
Erases the deep middle of the field.
Grades highest in speed and zone coverage.
The full scouting readMalik Hartford
Erases the deep middle of the field. Two head coaches in four seasons, at two different programs. The receipt on tape: 10 tackles against San Diego State, Week 2, 2026.
15 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
20236 games
- Signed with Ohio State4-star out of Lakota West
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed under 4 different head coaches: Chip Kelly, Deshaun Foster, Tim Skipper, and Bob Chesney. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to UCLA
2025Ohio State
2026UCLA
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced
2024Ohio State14-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Ohio State12-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning
2026UCLA2-0HC: Bob Chesney · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: passes defended (94th percentile). Concern: solo tackles (16th 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: 7.5 TKL/g, 0.2 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 1.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Chesney
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCLA | 15 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Career | 35 | 14 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 5 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 28–10
10 TOT · 3 SOLO · 1 PD
With C. Gerrand — 49 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 55 LONG · N. Iamaleava — 151 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 31.0 · 57 rush yds (13 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Centerfielder
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
S
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Buchi Okafor’s 2016 season.
89%match
Matches Buchi on
TFL rate
Tackle volume
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Coleman Bryson's senior season at North Carolina (2025).
86%match
Matches Coleman on
Class year
Tackle volume
PD rate
Background
Career Summary Transferred to UCLA ahead of the 2026 campaign after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Ohio State (2023-25) … won the 2024 National Championship with OSU … over 27 games (two starts) at OSU, totaled 20 tackles and three pass breakups. 2025 (Ohio State) Played the first...
The secondary · UCLA
- #4Cole Martin65 tackles · 2025
- #6Tao Johnson50 tackles · 2025
- #1Scooter Jackson44 tackles · 2025
- #32DJ Barksdale36 tackles · 2025
- #12Malik Hartford2 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · UCLA team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology