One of the key defensive transfers that Michigan State added in the offseason was former Central Florida standout defensive back Nikai Martinez.

Martinez suited up for the first time in Spartan uniform in the opener last Friday against Florida Atlantic and had an impressive debut, recording six tackles and an interception.

Martinez spoke about his first game for the Spartans and the task ahead.

“It was a great atmosphere," Martinez said on Wednesday. "I just kept catching myself looking around like, 'Damn I’m actually here.' The crowd was good. We felt like we had a good performance, but we got things to improve on.”

Martinez spent two seasons in Orlando with UCF, and he decided to come to Michigan State because of the new coaching staff, led by head coach Jonathan Smith.

“I felt like when I came here on my visit, the coaches were 100 percent real with me and were telling me, 'This is what you’re going to do,'" Martinez said. "Then, we got the plan, they showed me videos and clips of where I was going to be at and it was an open position for me to compete."

One thing that really caught Martinez’s eye when he first came to MSU was defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi’s defensive playing style.

“Being able to show different coverages and disguises and play man to man and just being able to be around the ball a lot,” Martinez said. “I think my thing was being able to track the ball and just little details that I thought I knew about the game that Coach Rossi can help me improve, like when I got here, I knew a little bit about football, but they actually expanded my vision.”