DALLAS – Former Conference USA stars made their presence known across the NFL again in week eight, led by standout performances on special teams and continued impact in the trenches.
 
Chris Boswell (Rice) was perfect for Pittsburgh, connecting on all four field goal attempts – including a 56-yarder – and finished with 13 points. Boswell leads the league in field goals made from 40+ yards (13) with a 7-7 mark from 40-49 and a 6-7 mark from 50+. In his return from injury, Cairo Santos (Tulane) added 10 points with 3-4 makes on field goals, including a long of 47 yards. Punter Thomas Morstead (SMU) averaged 47.6 yards per punt for San Francisco and placed three of his five punts inside the 20. Morstead is tied for fourth in punts downed inside the 20 (12), despite having the fewest total attempts among that group.
 
In the return game, Washington’s Luke McCaffrey (Rice) brought out a kick for 37 yards, in addition to catching three passes for 24 yards. He leads the league in kickoff return average (30.0) among players with at least 15 returns. Fellow Commander Jaylin Lane (MTSU) – who ranks second in the NFL in punt return average (14.9) under the same criteria – tallied a 14-yard punt return on Monday night.
 
Up front, Alex Wright (UAB) turned in another dominant performance for Cleveland with four tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. Wright ranks tied for fourth in the NFL in TFL (9) and is graded among the top 10 edge rushers in both overall defense (87.3) and run defense (81.6), according to PFF. Teair Tart (FIU) continues to anchor the Chargers’ defensive front, ranking fifth among interior linemen in defensive grade (85.6) and second in run defense (90.7), according to PFF. Tart tallied two stops in their win on Thursday night.
 
San Francisco’s Upton Stout (WKU) led a productive group of defensive standouts with a season-high nine tackles, including six solo stops, as he continues his impressive rookie campaign. Chicago’s Kevin Byard (MTSU) – who ranks 12^th among NFL safeties in PFF defensive grade (71.8) – notched six tackles in week eight.
 
Philadelphia’s Reed Blankenship (MTSU) tallied five tackles, while Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair (Florida Atlantic) and Xavier Woods (LA Tech) each posted four stops. New Orleans’ Quincy Riley (MTSU) recorded two solo stops. Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (Southern Miss) also tallied a sack for the Giants, and Markees Watts (Charlotte) recorded a half-sack for Tampa Bay. Larry Ogunjobi (Charlotte) made his season debut with Buffalo with three tackles.
 
Chargers rookie Tre’ Harris (LA Tech) hauled in his first career touchdown pass on a six-yard pass to extend Los Angeles’ lead in Thursday’s commanding win over the Vikings. Zaire Mitchell-Paden (FAU also made some personal history with his first career reception in his Saints debut. Malachi Corley (WKU) added 143 all-purpose yards for Cleveland, including a 31-yard rush and 112 yards on kick returns. Devin Singletary (FAU) contributed 79 total yards for the Giants, including a 28-yard reception and a 25.5-yard kickoff return average.
 
Click here for a complete list of the 84 former CUSA players featured on NFL rosters for the 2025 season.