LOGAN, Utah – Utah State football had two players named a College Football Network All-American it was announced by the organization on Monday as junior wide receiver Jalen Royals garnered third team honors and sophomore safety Ike Larsen was named to the honorable mention team.
 
Royals and Larsen were also both named first-team all-Mountain West performers this season.
 
Royals is first Aggie wide receiver to earn All-America honors since Kevin Curtis in 2001 and just the eighth receiver in school history to be named an All-American along with Kevin Alexander (1995), Kendal Smith (1988), James Murphy (1979), Jimmy Bryant (1978), Tom Forzani (1972) and Mike O'Shea (1968). Furthermore, Royals is just the third Aggie wide receiver to be named at least a third-team All-American along with Curtis and Smith. In fact, no Aggie wide receiver has ever been named a first- or second-team All-American.
 
Larsen, who was named a College Football News Honorable Mention Freshman All-American in 2022, is the seventh defensive back to earn All-America honors in school history, along with Hunter Reynolds (2022), Jalen Davis (2017), Nevin Lawson (2013), Will Davis (2012), Travis Clark (1988) and Henry King (1966).
 
Royals, a 6-0, 195-pound wide receiver from Powder Springs, Georgia (Hillgrove HS/Georgia Military College) has caught 68 passes for 1,023 yards and 14 touchdowns this year and has four 100-yard receiving games. In fact, he is just the 13th player in school history to post a 1,000-yard receiving season and his 14 touchdown catches are tied for the most in a single season in school history. Furthermore, he has seven touchdown receptions of at least 50 yards this year to lead the nation, while his 14 touchdown receptions are the second-most in the nation.
 
On the season, Royals is first in the Mountain West and second in the nation in receiving touchdowns (1.2 pg), third in the MW and 19th in the nation in receiving (85.2 ypg), fifth in the MW and 33rd in the nation in receptions (5.7 pg), seventh in the MW and 64th in the nation in scoring (7.2 ppg), and seventh in the MW and 98th in the nation in yards per reception (15.0).
 
Larsen, a 5-10, 185-pound safety from Smithfield, Utah (Sky View HS) leads the team with two blocked kicks and four interceptions, returning one of those 47 yards for a touchdown. He also ranks second on the team with 91 tackles and six pass breakups and has 4.5 tackles for loss.
 
Larsen was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, along with being named the MW Special Teams Player of the Week once after blocking the tying extra point in the final minute of Utah State's 34-33 road win at UConn. He was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week following his performance against Colorado State as he tied his career high with two interceptions, while adding seven tackles and a pass breakup. His second MW Defensive Player of the Week award came after his performance at San Diego State as he had eight tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss, and intercepted a pass on a fourth-down play in the second overtime to seal the win. He also disrupted a fake field goal in the second quarter and made the tackle on a fake punt in the fourth quarter, as both plays were unsuccessful.
 
On the season, Larsen is first in the Mountain West and third in the nation with two blocked kicks (0.17 pg), tied for first in the MW and eighth in the nation with one defensive touchdown (0.09 pg), first in the MW and 16th in the nation with four interceptions (0.33 pg), sixth in the MW in passes defended with 10 (0.83 pg), and eighth in the MW and 62nd in the nation in tackles (7.6 pg).
 
Utah State (6-6, 4-4 MW) will play in its 11th bowl game in the past 13 seasons and its 17th bowl game in school history as it will face Georgia State (6-6, 3-5 SBC) in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
 
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