Nikai Martinez
Played for three head coaches at two programs in five seasons: Gus Malzahn, Jonathan Smith and Pat Fitzgerald. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Illinois — Week 6, 2026.
38 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
38 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Michigan State | 38 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | Michigan State | 24 | 17 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Michigan State | 51 | 30 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2023 | UCF | 49 | 35 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | 3 |
| 2022 | UCF | 17 | 14 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 179 | 117 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 6 | 5 |
Last game (Wk 8): 8 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 30-20vs Toledo | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-7vs Eastern Michigan | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-27@ No. 3 Notre Dame | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-31vs Nebraska | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 3-31@ Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 37-38vs Illinois | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24vs No. 25 Northwestern | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 10-28@ No. 9 UCLA | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
Oct. 24 · L 10-28 at UCLA, play by play
8 tackles.
His game this year: coverage — 2 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Michigan State’s defense played that day
UCLA’s 12 drives: 8 stopped (2 takeaways) · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 5 of 8.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 9, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Second quarter, down 17-7.
2 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
38tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL38 tackles · 1 for loss · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 4.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Pass share
44.3%
222 pass / 279 run
Plays / game
62.6
8 games
Team sack rate
9.4%
256 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
38 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #282 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 45 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Gus Malzahn, Jonathan Smith and Pat Fitzgerald.
