NEW ORLEANS – Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman and Coastal Carolina alumnus C.J. Brewer recorded the first two sacks of his professional career and Buffalo Bills rookie edge Javon Solomon out of Troy tallied one of his own to spark Sun Belt alumni production in Week 8 of the 2024 National Football League (NFL) season.
In his third NFL season, Brewer has appeared in seven of the Bucs’ eight contests and recorded the first multi-sack game by a Sun Belt alum this season while finishing the day with three tackles despite a 31-26 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
A three-time All-Sun Belt Conference honoree and 2024 fifth-round draft pick by the Bills, Solomon recorded his second sack of the season in a 31-10 road win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Five-time All-Pro and New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis out of Arkansas State led all Sun Belt alumni with nine tackles in the team’s 26-8 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, as Marshall alum and Houston Texans linebacker Neville Hewitt had another productive Sunday with six tackles, one forced fumble and one pass defended in a 23-20 home win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Additional noteworthy performances on the defense included Kansas City Chiefs safety and Marshall alum Nazeeh Johnson who earned his first NFL start and tallied a career-high five tackles in a 27-20 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Troy alum and New England Patriots safety Dell Pettus tallied five tackles in a 25-22 home win over the New York Jets. App State alum and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither earned his first start of the season and tallied two tackles, including one tackle for loss in a 37-17 road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
On special teams, Detroit Lions kicker and Texas State alumnus Jake Bates continued his impressive rookie campaign by scoring 10 points, including making his lone field goal attempt from a personal-best distance of 51 yards as well as a season-high seven extra points in a 52-14 home win over the Tennessee Titans. Bates is now 11-for-11 on field goal attempts this season.
Georgia Southern’s alumni kicking duo of Tyler Bass and Younghoe Koo registered seven-point performances on Sunday, as Bass made his lone field goal attempt from 27 yards out and converted all four extra point attempts for the Bills. Koo went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts, including a 39-yard make, to complement four extra points.
Georgia State alum and Denver Broncos kicker Will Lutz made all four of his extra point attempts in the team’s 28-14 home win over the Carolina Panthers.
Offensively, Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely out of Coastal Carolina recorded four receptions for 47 yards in a 29-24 road loss to the Cleveland Browns, while South Alabama alumnus and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert reeled in three catches for 44 yards in a 30-24 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
Eighty-four Sun Belt football alumni held roster spots across all 32 NFL rosters during the eighth week of the regular season with 52 on active rosters, 23 on practice squads and nine on injured or other reserve lists. In Week 8 action, 43 saw game action with 20 earning a start for their respective teams.
App State
Akeem Davis-Gaither – LB, Cincinnati Bengals (1 G, 1 GS, 2 Tackles, 1 Tackle For Loss)
^ Darrynton Evans – RB, Buffalo Bills
Tyrek Funderburk – CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 G, 1 GS, 2 Tackles, 1 Pass Defended)
Nick Hampton – LB, Los Angeles Rams (1 G)
* Anderson Hardy – OL, Miami Dolphins
Cooper Hodges – OL, Jacksonville Jaguars (1 G)
* Shaun Jolly – CB, Los Angeles Rams
D’Marco Jackson – LB, New Orleans Saints (1 G, 1 Tackle)
Kendall Lamm – OL, Miami Dolphins (1 G)
Sam Martin – P, Buffalo Bills (1 G, 1 GS, 3 Punts, 147 Yards)
Ryan Neuzil – OL, Atlanta Falcons (1 G, 1 GS)
Jalen Virgil – WR, Buffalo Bills (1 G)
^ Bucky Williams – OL, Los Angeles Chargers
Arkansas State
Demario Davis – LB, New Orleans Saints (1 G, 1 GS, 9 Tackles)
Blake Grupe – K, New Orleans Saints (1 G, 1 GS, 2-for-3 FG)
Coastal Carolina
C.J. Brewer – DL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 G, 3 Tackles, 2 Tackles For Loss, 2 Sacks)
Isaiah Likely – TE, Baltimore Ravens (1 G, 1 GS, 4 Receptions, 47 Yards)
Georgia Southern
Darrell Baker Jr. – CB, Tennessee Titans (1 G, 1 GS, 1 Tackle, 1 Pass Defended)
Shemar Bartholomew – CB, Carolina Panthers (DNP)
Tyler Bass – K, Buffalo Bills (1 G, 1 GS, 1-for-1 FG, 4-for-4 XP)
* Raymond Johnson III – DE, Cincinnati Bengals
Younghoe Koo – K, Atlanta Falcons (1 G, 1 GS, 1-for-2 FG, 4-for-4 XP)
^ NaJee Thompson – CB, Minnesota Vikings
Kindle Vildor – CB, Detroit Lions (1 G, 1 Tackle)
Georgia State
Travis Glover – OL, Green Bay Packers (DNP)
Wil Lutz – K, Denver Broncos (1 G, 1 GS, 4-for-4 XP)
James Madison
* Liam Fornadel – OL, New England Patriots
* Jamree Kromah, DE, Chicago Bears
Aaron Stinnie – OL, New York Giants (1 G)
* Isaac Ukwu – DE, Detroit Lions
* Mike Greene – DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Louisiana
Percy Butler – S, Washington Commanders (1 G, 3 Tackles)
Kevin Dotson – OL, Los Angeles Rams (1 G, 1 GS)
* Eric Garror – CB, Seattle Seahawks
Robert Hunt – OL, Carolina Panthers (1 G, 1 GS)
* Andre Jones Jr. – DE, Washington Commanders
* Jacob Kibodi – RB, New Orleans Saints
^ Elijah Mitchell – RB, San Francisco 49ers
Max Mitchell – OL, New York Jets (1 G)
^ John Stephens Jr. – TE, Dallas Cowboys
^ Nathan Thomas – OL, Dallas Cowboys
Marshall
* Micah Abraham – CB, Cincinnati Bengals
Rasheen Ali – RB, Baltimore Ravens (DNP)
* Josh Ball – OL, Dallas Cowboys
* Abraham Beauplan – LB, Detroit Lions
Ethan Driskell – OL, Kansas City Chiefs (DNP)
Neville Hewitt – LB, Houston Texans (1 G, 1 GS, 6 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Pass Defended)
Nazeeh Johnson – S, Kansas City Chiefs (1 G, 1 GS, 5 Tackles)
Dalton Tucker – OL, Indianapolis Colts (1 G, 1 GS)
Old Dominion
Tre Hawkins III – CB, New York Giants (DNP)
* Marcus Haynes – DE, Cleveland Browns
Taylor Heinicke – QB, Los Angeles Chargers (DNP)
* Zack Kuntz – TE, New York Jets
Rick Lovato – LS, Philadelphia Eagles (1 G)
Zach Pascal – WR, Arizona Cardinals (1 G)
Nick Saldiveri – OL, New Orleans Saints (DNP)
Stone Smartt – TE, Los Angeles Chargers (1 G, 1 Tackle)
* Blake Watson – RB, Denver Broncos
^ Oshane Ximines – LB, New England Patriots
South Alabama
Carter Bradley – QB, Las Vegas Raiders (DNP)
Gerald Everett – TE, Chicago Bears (1 G, 1 Reception, 3 Yards)
Darrell Luter Jr. – CB, San Francisco 49ers (1 G, 1 Tackle)
Jeremy Reaves – S, Washington Commanders (1 G, 1 Tackle)
* Jamie Sheriff – LB, Seattle Seahawks
Jalen Tolbert – WR, Dallas Cowboys (1 G, 1 GS, 3 Receptions, 44 Yards)
Southern Miss
* Swayze Bozeman – LB, Kansas City Chiefs
Natrone Brooks – CB, Atlanta Falcons (1 G)
* Jason Brownlee – WR, New York Jets
* Frank Gore Jr. – RB, Buffalo Bills
Tim Jones – WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (1 G, 1 Reception, 20 Yards)
Tarvarius Moore – S, Chicago Bears (1 G)
Nick Mullens – QB, Minnesota Vikings (DNP)
Rakeem Nunez-Roches – DL, New York Giants (1 G, 1 GS, 2 Tackles)
* Cameron Tom – C, Cleveland Browns
* Quez Watkins – WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Texas State
Jake Bates – K, Detroit Lions (1 G, 1 GS, 1-for-1 FG, 7-for-7 XP)
Aaron Brewer – OL, Miami Dolphins (1 G, 1 GS)
Kyle Hergel – OL, New Orleans Saints (1 G)
Troy
^ Jake Andrews – OL, New England Patriots
^ Buddha Jones – NT, Seattle Seahawks
Dell Pettus – S, New England Patriots (1 G, 5 Tackles)
Javon Solomon – EDGE, Buffalo Bills (1 G, 1 Tackle, 1 Tackle For Loss, 1 Sack)
* Reddy Steward – CB, Chicago Bears
Kimani Vidal – RB, Los Angeles Chargers (1 G, 6 Rushes, 16 Yards)
*Practice Squad
^Injured & Other Reserve