Junior defensive back on UCLA's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 193 lb · Cincinnati, OH · Lakota West HS / Ohio State
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 152 nationally · Signed with Ohio State
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior defensive back on UCLA's 2026 roster.
How he projects
Erases the deep middle of the field.
Grades highest in speed and zone coverage.
The full scouting readMalik Hartford
Erases the deep middle of the field. Two head coaches in four seasons, at two different programs. The receipt on tape: 10 tackles against San Diego State, Week 2, 2026.
16 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
4 coachesPlayed under 4 different head coaches: Chip Kelly, Deshaun Foster, Tim Skipper, and Bob Chesney. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to UCLA
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCLA | 16 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 8 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| Career | 36 | 14 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 5 | -- | -- |
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 45-24@ California | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 28-10vs San Diego State | 10 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 52-38vs Purdue | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 45–24
at California
0.5 tackles for loss · 5 tackles · 1 pass breakups
Dominant 21-point win on the road against California.
With C. Gerrand — 43 yards per punt · 5 punts · 3 inside the 20 · W. Knight — 71 rush yds (8 car) · 3 TD
Since week 2: +1 tackle, +0.5 tackles for loss.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: passes defended (92nd percentile). Concern: solo tackles (11th 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
12%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
16tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%1 TFL16 tackles · 1 for loss · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 5.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 5.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bob Chesney
Pass share
39.0%
76 pass / 119 run
Plays / game
65.0
3 games
Team sack rate
5.7%
87 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2026
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Play style
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Amier Boyd-Matthews’s 2025 season.
Matches Amier on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Detravion Green's senior season at Arkansas State (2021).
Matches Detravion on
Career Summary Transferred to UCLA ahead of the 2026 campaign after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Ohio State (2023-25) … won the 2024 National Championship with OSU … over 27 games (two starts) at OSU, totaled 20 tackles and three pass breakups. 2025 (Ohio State) Played the…
18 more on the roster · UCLA team page