Sept. 20, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Two weeks into the NFL regular season, former Aztecs are helping their teams in the league.
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San Diego State has 11 former players on rosters throughout the league, with two on practice squads and three on injured reserve.
For the Arizona Cardinals, starting long snapper Aaron Brewer snapped the ball for kicker Phil Dawson four times for field goal attempts and five times for punter Andy Lee against the Indianapolis Colts. Brewer was a long snapper for the Aztecs from 2008-11 on both punts and field goals, and was three-time Mountain West all-academic pick and scholar athlete.
Backing up starting wide receiver Dez Bryant for the Dallas Cowboys, Brice Butler had a fourth-quarter 18-yard catch against the Denver Broncos. In his lone season with San Diego State in 2012 following a three-year career at USC, Butler played in all 13 games with eight starts, recording 24 catches for 347 yards and four touchdowns. He was a seventh-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Starting in his first career NFL game at linebacker, Calvin Munson of the New York Giants recorded seven solo tackles with one assisted tackle and one sack in the game against the Detroit Lions. Munson, who started all 41 games at outside linebacker from 2014-16 for SDSU, finished his collegiate career ranked sixth in tackles (301) and ninth in sacks (18.0). He was a three-time all-Mountain West pick, including a first-team selection each of his final two seasons. Munson signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.
Munson's New York Giants teammate, safety Nat Berhe, assisted on one tackle against the Detroit Lions. Berhe was a three-year starter from 2010-13 and was the first Aztec safety in the MW era (since 1999) to earn all-conference honors in three consecutive seasons.
Munson and Berhe played against defensive end Alex Barrett on the Detroit Lions. On two snaps, Barrett did not record any statistics. An undrafted free agent signing by the Lions, Barrett was the first Aztec defensive lineman to earn first-team all-MW honors multiple times. He finished his SDSU career tied for fourth in sacks (19.0) and tied for seventh in tackles for loss (40.0).
Atlanta Falcons safety Damontae Kazee lined up for five snaps against the Green Bay Packers. A cornerback in college, Kazee was selected by the Falcons in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Kazee finished his final year with 65 tackles (45 solo), seven interceptions for 156 yards, eight pass breakups, three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry en route to being named the MW Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Kazee, a three-time all-MW selection over his career (first team in 2015-16, second team in 2014), finished with a school-record 17 interceptions, 30 pass breakups (sixth at SDSU) and 214 interception yards (seventh at SDSU).
Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Nico Siragusa, Philadelphia Eagles running back Donnel Pumphrey and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Leon McFadden are on their teams' respective injured lists. Offensive linemen Daniel Brunskill (Atlanta Falcons) and Darrell Greene (Green Bay Packers) are both practice squad players.