NEW YORK, NY – College Sports Communicators, in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization, today announced the 12 semi-finalists for college football's
2024 Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Since 2018, the
Comeback Player of the Year Award has recognized college football student-athletes for overcoming injury, illness or other circumstances. At the conclusion of each season, in a vote by a panel of college football writers, editors, and sports information directors, three college football student-athletes are honored as
Comeback Player of the Year Award winners at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Horvath, who missed the final seven games of the season last year after injuring his thumb in the first half of his first career start against North Texas, has bounced back to have a sensational junior campaign. Horvath has rushed for 895 yards and 13 touchdowns on 133 carries, while completing 69 of his 118 pass attempts for 1,154 yards with 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Horvath's 11 touchdown passes are tied for the third most in school history and he trails first place Ricky Dobbs by just 2 with two games remaining. Horvath needs 105 yards rushing to become the 1st Navy player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2019 when Malcolm Perry rushed for 2,017 yards.
He is the 1st Navy quarterback to surpass 1,000 passing yards in a season since 2019 when Perry threw for 1,084 yards and his 1,154 passing yards are the most by a Navy player since Will Worth threw for 1,397 yards in 2016. Horvath is the sixth best rusher in the FBS (all positions, min. 125 att.) according to Pro Football Focus.
Here's a look at the 12
Comeback Player of the Year Award Semi-Finalists.
| PLAYER |
SCHOOL |
CONFERENCE |
POSITION |
| Blake Horvath |
Navy |
AAC |
QB |
| Eli Pancol |
Duke |
ACC |
WR |
| Tyler Shough |
Louisville |
ACC |
QB |
| Oronde Gadsden II |
Syracuse |
ACC |
TE |
| Lathan Ransom |
Ohio State |
Big Ten |
DB |
| Tyreem Powell |
Rutgers |
Big Ten |
LB |
| Jalon Daniels |
Kansas |
Big 12 |
QB |
| Trey Lathan |
West Virginia |
Big 12 |
LB |
| Riley Leonard |
Notre Dame |
Independent |
QB |
| Ike Larsen |
Utah State |
Mountain West |
DB |
| Raheim Sanders |
South Carolina |
SEC |
RB |
| Bru McCoy |
Tennessee |
SEC |
WR |
Previous winners of the
Comeback Player of the Year Award include
: 2023 – Blake Corum (Michigan);
Jacob Dobbs (Holy Cross);
Mike Hollins (Virginia);
2022 -
Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota);
Laiatu Latu (UCLA);
Michael Penix Jr. (Washington);
2021 –
Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan);
McKenzie Milton (Florida State);
J.J. Weaver (Kentucky);
2020 –
Jarek Broussard (Colorado);
Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky);
Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina);
2019 –
Jake Luton (Oregon State);
Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern);
Octavion Wilson (Salisbury);
2018 - Antwan Dixon (Kent State),
Seth Simmer (Dartmouth);
Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman). For a complete list of past honorees, visit
www.Comeback-Player.com.
For information about the award, visit Comeback-Player.com or follow on social media via Instagram at
@Comeback_Player_CFB and X at
@ComebackPlayrFB.
About College Sports Communicators: The second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics,
College Sports Communicators was founded in 1957 and rebranded in August 2022. The organization, now in its 67th year as an organization, was previously known as College Sports Information Directors of America, or CoSIDA. Today, College Sports Communicators is a vibrant 4,200-plus member international association, composed of the athletic communications, media relations, digital and creative professionals throughout all levels of intercollegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. CSC's signature program is the Academic All-America® program, honoring thousands of outstanding scholar-athletes annually. To learn more, visit
collegesportscommunicators.com
