Navy senior snipe Eli Heidenreich has been invited to the NFL scouting combine, being held Feb. 23 through March 2 at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
This marks the second straight year that a Navy player earned an invite to the combine as Rayuan Lane III participated in 2025 and was later drafted in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The NFL combine is an intensive week-long, invitation-only event that assembles approximately 300 draft eligible players to showcase their talents and skills. The entire event will be televised by the NFL Network.
Heidenreich and teammate Landon Robinson played in Tuesday night’s East-West Shrine Bowl. They’re the first Navy duo to play in the prestigious all-star game since 1957.
Heidenreich is just the second player in the Football Bowl Subdivision since 1956 to total 475 yards or more rushing and 925 yards or more receiving in the same season. The only other player to do that is Tavon Austin of West Virginia in 2012 (643 rushing, 1,289 receiving).
Heidenreich holds the Navy record for career receiving touchdowns with 16 and is tied for the single-season mark with six in both 2024 and 2025. His 1,994 career receiving yards are also the most in program history, while his 941 receiving yards in 2025 set the single-season record.
Heidenreich has amassed 109 career receptions, which is the second-most in Navy history behind Rob Taylor (129 from 1965-67).
Heidenreich set the single-game record for receiving yards with 243 on a career-high eight catches against Air Force this season. He became the first Navy player to surpass 200 yards receiving in a game.
Heidenreich is ranked as the second-best running back in the FBS with a 92.9 grade by Pro Football Focus, while his receiving grade of 94.4 is the best of any running back or wide receiver.
More accolades for Horvath
Postseason honors continue to pour in for Navy quarterback Blake Horvath.
Horvath was recently announced as the inaugural recipient of the Military Service Academy Leadership Award that is presented by the Maxwell Football Club. He was honored for exemplifying exceptional leadership on and off the field within the Naval Academy community.
Horvath played a pivotal role in helping Navy set a program record by winning 21 games over the past two seasons. Along the way, the Midshipmen captured consecutive Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy championships and posted back-to-back bowl wins against Power Four conference opponents.
Horvath became the first Navy quarterback to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and passing in two straight seasons. He amassed 5,379 yards of total offense as a junior and senior.
Off the field, Horvath matched his football success with elite performance in the classroom and from a leadership standpoint. The Hilliard, Ohio, native carries a 3.72 grade point average as an operations research major and ranks highly in Overall Order of Merit within the Class of 2026. He has earned a perfect 4.0 GPA each of the last three semesters.
Horvath, who is just the 11th National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in Naval Academy history, is also active in numerous service initiatives, faith-based groups and campus leadership organizations.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Horvath had been named a first team Academic All-American and the Division I Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the College Sports Communicators.
Horvath is the first Navy football player to earn the Scholar Athlete of the Year Award since it was established in 1987 and the 13th to receive first team Academic All-American honors since they were first awarded in 1952.
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Transfer portal
Former Navy quarterback Alex Erby has transferred to Division II Shippensburg, which is located about 45 minutes away from where he grew up in Pennsylvania. Erby was a highly-touted recruit out of Steelton-Highspire, which he led to three Class 1A state championships.
Erby did not see any varsity action as a plebe at Navy and has four years of eligibility at Shippensburg, which is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Raiders, who finished 3-8 overall and 3-4 in the PSAC last season, are under the direction of first-year head coach Drew Gallardy.
Shippensburg will be returning its top two quarterbacks in redshirt junior Riley Gunnels and junior Vincent Micucci.
Erby was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Pennsylvania as both a junior and senior. He was a four-time, first team All-State selection and Max Preps All-American who chose Navy over Big Ten schools Maryland and Minnesota.
Meanwhile, offensive tackle Jaylin Acevedo is currently in the transfer portal and has obtained representation. Acevedo made six starts this past season as a sophomore, but ultimately lost the job at right tackle to freshman Malcolm Johnson.
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