Six Navy Football Stars Named to CFN All-AAC Preseason Honors

College football season is rapidly approaching and there’s a few players in the American Athletic Conference that one should keep an eye on.

College Football News released its preseason All-American Athletic Conference team and the Navy Midshipmen ended up with six selections. 

The official AAC preseason team will be released next week at media days in Charlotte.

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The Mids were led by senior running back Eli Heidenreich who was the only first team selection on the offensive side of the ball. 

Last season Heidenreich was an offensive weapon both at running back and wide receiver. He had six touchdown receptions at receiver which tied a program record for most in a season. He also had three scores when he was carrying the ball. The Pennsylvania native had over 1,100 total yards of offense last season. 

There were two Midshipmen selected to the first team roster on the defensive side of the ball (both seniors) — Landon Robinson and Luke Pirris. 

Robinson is a defensive tackle who was a selection to the all-AAC first team last season. He finished 2024 with 61 total tackles, including 5.5 for loss, with four sacks. 

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Pirris, a defensive end was fourth overall on the Navy squad last season in tackles (68) and third in tackles for loss (6). 

Three Midshipmen were second team selections, two on offense and one on special teams. 

Quarterback Blake Horvath and offensive guard Ben Purvis are going into their final seasons at Navy.

Horvath was phenomenal last season, posting over 1,000 yards both rushing and passing. Horvath had almost 2,600 yards of total offense with 30 total touchdowns. 

Purvis is definitely someone a quarterback would want protecting him. He’s 6-foot-3, strong, reliable, and leader of the offensive line. Last season he earned honorable mention honors from the conference. 

Isaiah Bryant is the lone Mid that isn’t going into his final season. He was placed on the special teams second team roster as a kick returner. Last season he averaged 21.6 yards per return. The junior actually had three returns for 69 yards in their bowl game, a win against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Navy is coming off of a 10-win season and will open their upcoming year in less than six weeks against the Virginia Military Keydets.

For more Armed Forces news, head over to Armed Forces Sports On SI.