ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Navy senior quarterback Blake Horvath has been named to the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Watch list, it was announced today by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. The Walter Camp Player of the Year award is the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade and is presented by Crabtree Lexus of New Haven.
Horvath and Byrum Brown, the starting quarterback at USF, are the only two players from the American on the list.
Horvath finished the 2024 season with 1,246 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on just 175 carries and completed 80 of his 139 pass attempts for 1,353 yards with 13 TDs and four interceptions. His 1,353 passing yards are the 10th most in school history.
Horvath was the third quarterback in school history to rush and pass for more than 1,200 yards in the same season in 2024, joining Keenan Reynolds in 2015 (1,203 passing, 1,373 rushing) and Chris McCoy in 1997 (1,203 passing, 1,370 rushing). His 2,599 yards of total offense in 2024 are the second most in school history, while his 8.3 yards of total offense per play tied with Shun White for the second most for a single season in school history. Horvath's 7.9 yards per play over his career is the second-best mark in school history.
In 2024, Horvath was the first Navy player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2019 when Malcolm Perry rushed for 2,017 yards and his 1,353 passing yards are the most for a Navy player since Will Worth threw for 1,397 yards in 2016.
Horvath's 7.1 yards per carry in 2024 tied Reggie Campbell (2006) for the fifth-best single-season yards per carry average in program history and ranked third nationally.
Horvath's 95-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl was the third-longest run in the FBS in 2024. Horvath and Malcolm Perry (2016-19) are the only two Navy football players to have two runs of 90-yards or more in a career (they both did it in a single-season).
Horvath was the first Navy quarterback since Keenan Reynolds to throw a touchdown pass in four-consecutive games (streak ended at Air Force, had a touchdown pass called back due to a penalty) and his 164.4 passing efficiency in 2024 is the fourth-best mark in school history. Horvath has thrown just four interceptions in 151-career attempts for an interception percentage of .026 per attempt, the second-best average in school history.
He is averaging 16.7 yards per completion in his career (86 completions for 1,437 yards), which is the fourth-best average in school history. Horvath ranked sixth in the FBS in ESPN's QBR Rating (83.4) in 2024 and finished as the No. 9 graded runner (all positions, min. 150 att.) according to Pro Football Focus.
Horvath was the first player with seventh passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns through the team's first 4 games since Lamar Jackson in 2016.
The 2025 watch list includes 38 offensive players (22 quarterbacks, 11 running backs, four receivers/tight ends and one two-way player) along with eight from the defensive side of the ball.
Players from 37 different schools representing 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the preseason watch list.
Former Colorado wide receiver/defensive back and current Jacksonville Jaguar Travis Hunter was the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year. Hunter was also the first player to be named a Walter Camp First Team All-American on both sides of the ball.
The 2025 Player of Year watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early November and three finalists will be announced in early December. The 2025 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 133 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show on December 12.
Walter Camp Player of Year Award Background
· There have been 58 previous winners of the Walter Camp Player of the Year – first awarded in 1967 (O.J. Simpson, running back, USC).
· Of the 58 recipients, 25 have been running backs, 23 quarterbacks, five wide receivers, three defensive players, one tight end and one two-way player (Travis Hunter, Colorado, 2024 – WR/DB).
· There have been three two-time recipients – O.J. Simpson, USC (1967 and 1968); Archie Griffin, Ohio State (1974 and 1975) and Colt McCoy, Texas (2008 and 2009).
2025 Walter Camp Player of Year Preseason Players to Watch
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
Luke Altmyer, QB, Illinois
Carson Beck, QB, Miami
Vaughn Blue, RB, Liberty
Braylon Braxton, QB, Southern Miss
Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville
Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida
Demond Claiborne, RB, Wake Forest
Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State
Dequan Finn, QB, Miami Ohio
Anthony Hankerson, RB, Oregon State
Jamal Haynes, RB, Georgia Tech
Al-Jay Henderson, RB, Buffalo
Jason Henderson, LB, Old Dominion
Anthony Hill, Jr., LB, Texas
Blake Horvath, QB, Navy
Makhi Hughes, RB, Oregon
Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA
Keyone Jenkins, QB, FIU
Mikail Kamara, Edge, Indiana
Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
DJ Lagway, QB, Florida
Sam Leavitt, QB, Arizona State
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
Maddux Madsen, QB, Boise State
Arch Manning, QB, Texas
John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Parker Navarro, QB, Ohio
Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt
Koi Perich, WR/DB, Minnesota
Kaidon Salter, QB, Colorado
LaNorris Sellars, QB, South Carolina
Colin Simmons, Texas
Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina
Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
Jai Den Thomas, RB, UNLVJordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Jaheim White, RB, West Virginia
Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
Peter Woods, DL, Clemson
