ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The annual Navy football senior tribute took place on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall where several prestigious awards were handed out from the 2023 season.
 
Junior linebacker Colin Ramos (Wayne, N.J.) was named the winner of the E.E. "Rip" Miller Award, which is presented to the season's most valuable player as voted on by his teammates.  This is the third time in the last four years that a defensive player has won the award.
 
Ramos, who was named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and All-East in 2023, led Navy in tackles with 110, while recording nine tackles for a loss (second on the team), four pass breakups (first), two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.  He was twice named AAC Defensive Player of the Week (12 tackles, a sack,  and tackle for loss and a pass breakup against UAB and 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss against ECU). Ramos spearheaded a defense that recorded a nation's-best three shutouts, which were the most by a Navy team since 1978. His 110 tackles were the most by a Navy player since Cody Peterson recorded 142 in 2013.
 
Senior defensive tackle Clay Cromwell (Oxford, Miss.) was the recipient of the Joe Bellino Award, which is presented to the varsity football player whose inspiring on-the-field performance made a significant impact on the team and contributed to its overall success during the season. This is the fifth time in the last six years that a defensive player has won the award.;
 
Cromwell, despite being hobbled with a leg injury all year, started every game for the Mids in 2023, finishing the season with 47 tackles, five tackles for a loss, three sacks and a forced fumble while doing all the dirty work along the defensive line.  Cromwell was a major reason why the defense finished 19^th in the country in stop rate (percentage of drives that end in a punt, turnover or turnover on downs).
 
Senior linebacker Will Harbour (Frisco, Texas) was named the winner of the Roger Staubach Award, which is presented to the varsity football player who demonstrated consistent, outstanding leadership and an "Expect to Win" attitude in contributing to the team's success during the season and embodied honor, courage and commitment on and off the playing field. This is the fifth-consecutive year a defensive player has won the award.
 
Harbour, one of four captains on the team, garnered 2023 Honorable Mention All-AAC honors and was named All-East. He finished second on the team with 84 tackles, tied for third in tackles for a loss (7.5) and tied for fourth in sacks (3).
 
Senior quarterback Xavier Arline (Wading River, N.Y.) was named the winner of the Napoleon McCallum Award, which is awarded to the football player with the most all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, returns) in his four-year career.
 
Arline played in 30 games in his career, earning 14 starts, and rushed for 1,019 career yards, including a career-high 109 yards and a touchdown against UAB this past fall. In 2020, Arline became just the fifth freshman in school history to start an Army-Navy game at quarterback and was also the first freshman in school history to start the second game of his career at quarterback, when he started at Tulane.  He also set the single-game record for passing percentage in a game this year against East Carolina, completing 10 of his 11 attempts for 102 yards in the Navy win.
 
Senior kicker Evan Warren (Finksburg, Md.) was named the winner of the Cmdr. Ralph Sentmann Award, which honors the member of the graduating class from the varsity football team who has achieved the highest ranking in academic order of merit. 
 
Warren, who has a 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in political science (honors), is ranked No. 1 in the senior class in academic order of merit.  Warren, who appeared in nine games this year as a kicking specialist, was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and was named Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators.
 
Senior wide receiver Jayden Umbarger (Baltimore, Md.) took home the Jeffrey R. Korn Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given annually to the first classman on the team who has demonstrated excellence both in the classroom and on the football field. This is the second time in the last three years that an offensive player has won the award.
 
Umbarger, one of four captains on the team, played in 36 games in his career and finished with 36 catches for 470 yards and three touchdowns, while carrying the ball 15 times for 142 yards.  Off the field, Umbarger earned a 3.63 grade-point average while majoring in political science and was named Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators.
 
Senior striker Xavier McDonald (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was named the winner of the Cooke Award, which is given to the player who has done the most to promote team spirit.
 
McDonald had an outstanding senior campaign, starting all 12 games at striker and recording 52 tackles, six tackles for a loss, recorded three sacks, had three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and blocked a punt. He finished 14^th in the country in forced fumbles.  Off the field, McDonald was one of 11 players nationwide named to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his community service, was a two-time semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, was a nominee for the Football Writers Association of America Courage Award and was a 2023 candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy for community service.
 
Senior nose guard Donald Berniard Jr. (Baton Rouge, La.) was awarded the Outstanding Lineman Award, presented annually to a member of the graduating class who, as a football interior lineman, has excelled as a student-athlete and contributed to the overall team leadership and spirit. This is the second time the last three years that a defensive player has won this award.
 
Berniard Jr., despite being the smallest nose guard in the country at 256 pounds, was an ironman for the Midshipmen starting 42-consecutive games to end his career.  He finished with 103-career tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and one fumble recovery.  His 42-consecutive starts were the second most in the FBS by an interior defensive lineman. 
 
Senior safety / striker Eavan Gibbons (San Diego, Calif.) was named the winner of the 1^st Lt. Ron Winchester Unsung Hero Award, which is presented to an unheralded senior recognized as an overachiever and role model as selected by a vote of his teammates. It is the second-consecutive year a defensive player has won the award.
 
Gibbons started 21 games in his career and earned three varsity letters. He was named a 2022 Second Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators and was a two-time All-District pick by the same organization.  Gibbons finished his career with 128 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery and forced a fumble.
 
Freshman slot back TK Hodges (Chicago, Ill.) was named the winner of the Loree "Rip" Collins and "Arch" Roos Class of 1949 Junior Varsity Player of the Year Award as selected by a vote of his teammates.
 
A 2022 graduate of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla., Hodges attended the Naval Academy Prep School during the 2022-23 academic year.  He attended Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, Va. his first-three years of high school and was a three-sport athlete who earned letters in basketball (4), football (4) and track & field (4). Hodges was a two-time (So, Jr) First-Team All-State (Va.) selection in football and placed third in the long jump and triple jump at the state championship his junior year.  He was also a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay at the state championship.