Nikai Martinez holds the FS · Starter spot in Michigan State Spartans’s safety room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Nikai Martinez is a fifth-year safety from Apopka, Florida, who transferred to Michigan State in 2024 after two seasons at UCF. At the collegiate level, he has appeared in 43 games across four seasons, accumulating 150 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, five pass break-ups, and five interceptions (156 yards). During the 2024 season, Martinez started all 12 games for the Spartans, recording 51 tackles and two interceptions (62 yards) while playing a team-high 724 defensive snaps. In 2025, injuries limited him to four games with 24 tackles in 197 defensive snaps, though he posted a career-high 10 tackles against Minnesota (11/1).