Alexander John Horvath (born December 10, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Early years

Zander went to Mishawaka Catholic for elementary and middle school, where he played football and graduated from in 2013. Horvath then also played football at Marian High School in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South ...

. He recorded 3,373 yards and 50

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

on the ground, earning all-state and ''

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'' Midwest Regional All-American honors.

College career

Horvath initially committed to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

to play

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

as a preferred

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, but switched commitments when Purdue

running backs A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. There ...

coach

Chris Barclay Chris Barclay (born October 15, 1983) is an American football coach and former running back who is the current running backs coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college football at Wake Forest. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as ...

offered him a chance to play his natural position of running back. Horvath did not play in 2017. In 2018, Horvath appeared in 13 games, rushing nine times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Horvath also caught four passes for 38 yards. In 2019, Horvath's role expanded. Horvath appeared in 11 games, starting four. He rushed 79 times for 377 yards and two touchdowns, and caught 17 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Horvath appeared in 6 games, starting five. He rushed 89 times for 442 yards and two touchdowns, and caught 30 passes for 304 yards. In his senior year of 2021, Horvath rushed 91 times for 320 yards, and caught 17 passes for 108 yards.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Initially not projected to be a drafted player, Horvath intrigued scouts with his elite positional athleticism for a fullback, scoring a 9.83 out of 10 Raw Athletic Score (RAS).

Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)

Horvath was selected by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

in the seventh round (260th overall) of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He became the first running back or fullback to catch a touchdown in his first two games since 1942. He was released by the Chargers on August 30, 2023.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 2, 2023, Horvath signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was released on October 9.

Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

Horvath was re-signed to the Chargers practice squad on November 22, 2023. He was released on December 1.

References

External links

Purdue Boilermakers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Zander 1998 births Living people People from Mishawaka, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana American football fullbacks American people of Hungarian descent Los Angeles Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Purdue Boilermakers football players