Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| 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 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Total | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#21
Nikai Martinez
Senior defensive back on Michigan State's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 196 lb · Apopka, FL · Apopka
CFB Index 61 · #174 of 537 safetiesLow confidenceReturning to Michigan State for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
4★
CB recruit
No. 356 nationally · Signed with UCF
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Michigan State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to UCF in 2022.
- Transferred from UCF to Michigan State in 2024.
Nikai Martinez
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Three head coaches in five seasons, at two different programs. One game to point at: 5 tackles against Eastern Michigan — Week 2, 2026.
6 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
202211 games
- Signed with UCF4-star out of Apopka
202411 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coaches2022–2023
Michigan State
Played under 3 different head coaches: Mel Tucker, Jonathan Smith, and Pat Fitzgerald. Multi-era developmental context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2022UCF9-5HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2023UCF6-7HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning
2024Michigan State5-7HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced, slow tempo
2025Michigan State4-8HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced
2026Michigan State2-0HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Run-heavy, fast tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (0th 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: 3.0 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
Pat Fitzgerald
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Michigan State | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 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 | 147 | 98 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 5 | 5 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 30–20
vs Toledo
1 TOT · 1 SOLO
With A. Milivojevic — 247 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 87.3 · -5 rush yds (6 car) · C. Mccray — 4 rush yds (1 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Michigan State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Michigan State
Returning around him
- 2 Michigan State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -18 net (28 in / 46 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Michigan State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #61 · 2026 recruiting class #45
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Woodi Washington’s 2024 season.
Matches Woodi on
Height
PD rate
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Cam Jeffery's senior season at Arkansas State (2024).
Matches Cam on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Nikai Martinez
Background
Fifth-year graduate safety enters his third season with the Spartans in 2026 . . . has played in 43 collegiate games the past four seasons (27 at UCF in 2022-23; 12 at MSU in 2024; four at MSU in 2025) . . . has collected 150 tackles in his career, including 5.5 tackles for loss (18 yards) and 1....
The secondary · Michigan State
- #7Michael Richard Jr.38 tackles · 2025
- #3Tre Bell36 tackles · 2025
- #21Nikai Martinez24 tackles · 2025
- #30Aveon Grose15 tackles · 2025
- #34Khalil Majeed3 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Michigan State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology