Michigan State Football Top 30 Players Countdown: No. 4
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Michigan State was missing its lid on the top of its defense for most of the 2025 season.
Free safety Nikai Martinez is one of the best returning players MSU will have during Year 1 of the Pat Fitzgerald era. Last year was supposed to be Martinez’s final collegiate season, but he kept that final year of eligibility by only appearing in four games due to injuries. Martinez decided to stay put in East Lansing rather than go elsewhere as a grad transfer, and the Spartans’ defense is much better for it.
Why Martinez Is Huge Part of Spartans’ Defense
Martinez, my No. 4 player on my “top 30 players” list for the fall, will probably be on the field more than anybody else on Michigan State’s defense when he’s healthy. He played 724 snaps during his first year with the program in 2024. That was about 94% of possible opportunities. Cornerback Ed Woods played 99 fewer snaps than Martinez that season and finished second on the defense in snaps played.
Forcing turnovers is another thing MSU’s defense needs to do more of this fall. The Spartans’ nine takeaways last season were tied for the second-fewest in the Big Ten in 2025. Michigan State’s five interceptions were tied for the third-fewest. Martinez had three interceptions during the 2023 season at UCF and two in 2024 with MSU.
It may not all be about Martinez, but the secondary in 2024 that had Martinez on the back end was much better statistically than last year’s team, which only got four games and 197 snaps from him.
The 2024 team allowed 206.9 passing yards per game (46th in the FBS, ninth in the Big Ten) and 7.3 yards per attempt. Last year’s squad allowed 231.3 passing yards per game (92nd in the FBS, second-to-last in the Big Ten) and 7.6 yards per attempt.
Michigan and Minnesota were the two games where Martinez played the most last year. The Spartans only allowed 86 passing yards (5.1 yards per attempt) through the air against the Wolverines and 197 passing yards (also 5.1 yards per attempt) against the Golden Gophers.
Some of the credit for 2024's better numbers probably goes to Charles Brantley. The great part is that he’s back with Michigan State again after taking a quick trip back home for a season at Miami (FL).
Martinez’s Decision To Come Back
Coaching changes spur plenty of change in college football. The Spartans lost more than 40 players to the transfer portal while switching from Jonathan Smith to Fitzgerald. Martinez may be the player on the 2025 roster who was insulated most from change. Fitzgerald decided to retain both defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and safeties coach James Adams.
Martinez said during the spring that he had some away-from-the-field issues he had to deal with while he weighed staying or going, so Rossi and Adams didn’t necessarily “re-recruit” him, but their retentions and the knowledge the scheme would stay pretty similar still played a big role in the final choice. Fitzgerald says Martinez has been full go since.
“Nikai Martinez has been outstanding,” Fitzgerald said Wednesday in Chicago at Big Ten Football Media Days. “When you talk about like a glue guy, from the moment that he made the decision to come back and be a Spartan, it was all over his face and his eyes, and he's backed that up with his actions. Everything he does is about holding himself and his teammates accountable, and it's been a joy.”
Martinez was also one of the first players Rossi mentioned as a must-keep when he and Fitzgerald sat down to figure out which players to retain. With him and Brantley back with MSU in 2026, the secondary as a whole has a chance to be one of the team’s strengths.
More on Martinez, MSU’s Secondary
Martinez finished the 2024 season with 51 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two pass defenses, and that pair of interceptions. He also still had 24 tackles across his four appearances and starts last year, including a 10-tackle performance against Minnesota.
Maine transfer Devin Vaught will probably be the second safety next to Martinez this year. Vaught is coming up from the FCS with two years of eligibility remaining, where he intercepted three passes (six total) in each of the last two seasons. Vaught was a Second Team All-CAA honoree last year, also making 60 tackles with five pass breakups. He also had a pick-six against FBS foe Georgia Southern.
Having a pair of proven Power Four corners helps. Brantley was perhaps Michigan State’s best defensive player during the 2024 season. Iowa State transfer Tre Bell also played pretty well when he got a starting role for the Cyclones last fall after some injuries forced him up the depth chart, and he intercepted two passes. He followed cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat to East Lansing.
Louisiana Tech transfer Michael Richard is another interesting piece at nickel. He intercepted three passes last year with the Bulldogs, with one of them coming against LSU. Richard has been working more closely with the safeties, so he could potentially move further away from the line of scrimmage if needed, too.
Poteat has made it especially clear that he wants his players to force turnovers. The fact that four of the Spartans’ five starting defensive backs have had a three-interception season, and the other has had a two-pick year, is not a coincidence.
Keeping Martinez means MSU has another defensive playmaker and someone who can keep the defense from allowing big plays, something Rossi himself puts plenty of emphasis on. His combination of experience and production during his career at both UCF and Michigan State is impressive, and if he stays healthy, he’ll be one of the Spartans’ best players this fall.
Other Top 30 Articles
No. 30, WR Samson Gash | No. 29, WR Charles Taplin | No. 28, S Devin Vaught | No. 27, KR Kenneth Williams | No. 26, OL Luka Vincic | No. 25, OL Rakeem Johnson | No. 24, CB Tyran Chappell | No. 23, DL Derrick Simmons | No. 22, TE Carson Gulker | No. 21, WR KK Smith
No. 20, DL Eli Coenen | No. 19, OL Nick Sharpe | No. 18, LB Caleb Wheatland | No. 17, RB Marvis Parrish | No. 16, DB Michael Richard | No. 15, EDGE Anelu Lafaele | No. 14, P Rhys Dakin | No. 13, LB Dion Crawford | No. 12, C Trent Fraley | No. 11, DL Ben Roberts
No. 10, CB Tre Bell | No. 9, OL Conner Moore | No. 8, EDGE Kenny Soares Jr. | No. 7, WR Chrishon McCray | No. 6, QB Alessio Milivojevic | No. 5, OL Ben Murawski
Martinez at B1G Football Media Days
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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