IRVING, Texas - Three football student-athletes from the American Conference have been named First-Team CSC Academic All-Americans, the College Sports Communicators announced January 27. Navy senior quarterback Blake Horvath, was named the CSC Division I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year, while South Florida graduate offensive lineman Connor McLaughlin and Tulane sophomore punter Alec Clark were also named to the Academic All-America Football First Team.

Horvath, who has a 3.69 cumulative grade-point average as an operations research major, led Navy to a program-best 11-2 record, the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, a bowl win and the Lambert Trophy, which is presented to the best team in the East in FBS college football. The dual-threat quarterback totaled 1,200 rushing yards, which were second-most among FBS quarterbacks, and 16 rushing touchdowns to go along with 1,580 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air. The Hilliard, Ohio, native became the first Navy quarterback to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and the third to surpass 1,200 yards passing and rushing in a single year. Off the field, Horvath was a finalist for the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy® and earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. He was awarded the Maxwell Football Club’s inaugural Military Service Academy Leadership Award, which honors a player from one of the United States Military Service Academies who exemplifies exceptional leadership both on the football field and within their academy community.

McLaughlin played his final season with the Bulls after graduating from Stanford with a 3.78 undergraduate cumulative grade point average. He earned a master's degree from South Florida in civil engineering, graduating in December with a 4.0 GPA. McLaughlin helped the Bulls' offense rank No. 3 nationally in total offense (488.7 ypg), No. 5 in scoring (40.5 ppg) and No. 13 in rushing (212 ypg).

Clark, who has a 4.00 cumulative GPA in economics, was a First-Team All-American Conference selection. He averaged 46.5 yards per punt, with a long of 70 yards. Of his 48 punts, 16 traveled 50 yards or more, and he placed 16 inside the 20-yard line. His punting average would have led the American Conference and ranked 11th nationally if he had enough attempts to qualify statistically.