South Alabama Professional Athletes

South Alabama's most notable NFL moment this week came from the punter — and that's not a knock.

Corliss Waitman, San Francisco's veteran punter, was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after helping the 49ers hold off the Seattle Seahawks 32-29 in a tightly contested divisional showdown on Sunday, October 11. The weekly honor is a rare spotlight for a position that typically only makes headlines when something goes wrong, and Waitman's performance was enough to flip the narrative entirely.

The win was significant for San Francisco in the NFC West standings, and Waitman's contributions in the field-position battle proved meaningful in a three-point game. Divisional matchups at this stage of the season leave little margin for error, and a punter who consistently flips the field can be the difference between a win and a deflating road loss — exactly the kind of outcome the Seahawks took home Sunday.

It's worth noting that two South Alabama alums suit up for Seattle — linebackers Bubba Thomas and Wy'Kevious Thomas — meaning Waitman was literally punting against former Jaguar teammates in a game that mattered. No stats were available for either Thomas from Sunday's contest.

Elsewhere around the league, Jalen Tolbert continues to find his footing in Miami's offense. The former South Alabama wide receiver hauled in one reception for 22 yards in the Dolphins' 24-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. It's a quiet line, but Tolbert remains on an NFL roster and contributing in a Dolphins offense that's still searching for consistency.

Jeremy Reaves, the South Alabama safety now with Washington, was on the field as the Commanders and New York Giants played to a 27-27 draw Sunday. No individual stats were recorded for Reaves in the box score, but the tie itself is a notable result — ties remain one of the NFL's rarest outcomes — and Washington's defense holding the Giants to a draw without a win keeps the NFC East race as murky as ever.

The week's headline, though, belongs to Waitman. Special teams awards don't generate the same social media frenzy as a quarterback's four-touchdown night or a receiver's 150-yard explosion, but they matter to coaches, front offices, and anyone who has watched a poorly timed shank cost a team a game. Waitman's recognition is a reminder that South Alabama has quietly built an NFL pipeline that extends well beyond the skill positions — and that its alumni are earning hardware across all three phases of the game.

South Alabama Alumni in the NFL | Week of Sept. 27–Oct. 3

The Jaguars roster is one thing, but making an NFL 53 as an undrafted free agent is another — and Jamaal Pritchett did exactly that. The South Alabama receiver/returner earned a spot on the New York Jets' active roster after going undrafted, joining a South Alabama program that has quietly become one of the more productive UDFA pipelines in the Sun Belt.

Pritchett is listed as a wideout and return specialist — a dual-threat profile that tends to keep special-teams-focused roster spots within reach for smaller pass-catchers. He appeared in the Jets' Week 4 loss to the Detroit Lions (24–31), getting his first taste of regular-season action. The result wasn't pretty on the scoreboard, but the fact that Pritchett was in uniform at all tells the real story: he beat out the competition to be there.

He isn't alone in New York, either. Pritchett suits up alongside fellow South Alabama alumni Caullin Lacy (WR) and Lincoln Sefcik (TE), giving the Jets three South Alabama alumni on their active roster — a remarkable cluster for a program that wasn't playing FBS football until 2012.

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Around the League

The South Alabama alumni spread ran wide in Week 4. Jeremy Reaves continued his quietly dependable tenure in Washington, suiting up at safety as the Commanders edged the Seahawks 33–31 in a thriller — a result that happened to involve two other South Alabama products, Bubba Thomas and Wy'Kevious Thomas, both on Seattle's linebacker corps.

In San Francisco, punter Corliss Waitman was in action as the 49ers topped Arizona 36–30. Waitman has carved out a legitimate NFL career as a specialist, and his continued presence on a contending roster speaks to the program's ability to develop players at every position.

Elsewhere, Gerald Everett (Bears, TE), Jalen Tolbert (Dolphins, WR), Darrell Luter Jr. (Raiders, CB), and Jalen Wayne (Packers, WR) all remained active on their respective rosters. Kawaan Baker and Khalil Jacobs are in New England, Cephus Johnson is in Tampa, Trey Kiser is with the Giants, Jamie Sheriff is on the Rams, and Lardarius Webb Jr. holds down a corner spot in Baltimore. Carter Bradley remains on Jacksonville's QB depth chart.

That's 20 South Alabama alumni on NFL rosters entering October 2026. For a program still adolescent by Power Conference standards, that number is the most persuasive argument for what head coach Kane Wommack has built on the Gulf Coast. Pritchett's roster spot isn't a footnote — it's more evidence of a pipeline that keeps producing.