Junior safety on Texas Tech's 2026 roster.
6′3″ · 210 lb · Killeen, TX · Shoemaker
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 567 nationally · Signed with Texas Tech
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior safety on Texas Tech's 2026 roster.
How he projects
Moves between deep coverage and the slot.
Grades highest in speed and play recognition.
The full scouting readMalik Esquerra
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Third year in the Texas Tech secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles against Houston, Week 3, 2026.
20 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Joey McGuire.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas Tech | 20 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Texas Tech | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Texas Tech | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 30 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 33-10vs Abilene Christian | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-24@ Oregon State | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 28-26vs Houston | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 28–26
vs Houston
8 tackles · 7 solo tackles
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 2 at home.
With W. Hammond — 257 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 75.5 · 30 rush yds (5 car) · W. Karoll — 58.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 1 inside the 20
Since week 2: +8 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Joey McGuire — 23-7 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (97th percentile). Strength: tackles (82nd percentile). Concern: tackles for loss (16th percentile).
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.
Defender profile · Production by role
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
5%1 pass breakupsTackle volume
20tackles this seasonTFL rate
0%0 TFL20 tackles · 1 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 6.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Joey McGuire
Pass share
43.7%
90 pass / 116 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
100 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Damani Alexcee’s 2016 season.
Matches Damani on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Demetrius Hill's junior season at Florida International (2025).
Matches Demetrius on
2025 SEASON (SOPHOMORE) Saw an increased role as a sophomore, appearing in all 14 games either on special teams or as a reserve safety … played in at least one defensive snap in 12 different games overall as the primary backup to Cole Wisniewski … member of three special teams units as a main…
17 more on the roster · Texas Tech team page